Smartsheet (NYSE:SMAR) Given “Hold” Rating at Jefferies Financial Group

Smartsheet (NYSE:SMAR)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reiterated by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $56.50 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $60.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 1.88% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on SMAR. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Smartsheet from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $56.50 target price (down previously from $60.00) on shares of Smartsheet in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Smartsheet from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Smartsheet from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on Smartsheet from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.32.

Smartsheet Stock Performance

Shares of SMAR stock traded up $3.37 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $55.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 28,244,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,679,150. Smartsheet has a 1-year low of $35.52 and a 1-year high of $55.56. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $48.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.25. The company has a market cap of $7.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -89.45 and a beta of 0.74.

Smartsheet (NYSE:SMAR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 5th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $276.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $274.23 million. Smartsheet had a negative net margin of 4.07% and a negative return on equity of 4.29%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.23) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Smartsheet will post -0.05 EPS for the current year.

Smartsheet declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Smartsheet

In other Smartsheet news, COO Stephen Robert Branstetter sold 4,272 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.42, for a total value of $189,762.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 63,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,833,773.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Smartsheet news, COO Stephen Robert Branstetter sold 4,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.42, for a total value of $189,762.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 63,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,833,773.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Patrick Mader sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.78, for a total transaction of $1,035,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 588,762 shares in the company, valued at $30,486,096.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 39,429 shares of company stock valued at $1,952,525 in the last 90 days. 4.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Smartsheet

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SMAR. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Smartsheet during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of Smartsheet during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in Smartsheet in the second quarter worth $31,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Smartsheet in the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Smartsheet by 37.5% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

About Smartsheet

Smartsheet, Inc engages in managing and automating collaborative work. Its platform provides solutions that eliminate the obstacles to capturing information, including a familiar and intuitive spreadsheet interface as well as easily customizable forms. The company was founded by W. Eric Browne, Maria Colacurcio, John D.