Smartsheet’s (SMAR) “Hold” Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of Smartsheet (NYSE:SMAR) in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports.

SMAR has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “peer perform” rating on shares of Smartsheet in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $56.50 price objective (down previously from $59.00) on shares of Smartsheet in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded Smartsheet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Smartsheet in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $56.50 target price (down from $60.00) on shares of Smartsheet in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.82.

Smartsheet Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SMAR opened at $56.07 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.63. Smartsheet has a fifty-two week low of $35.52 and a fifty-two week high of $56.55. The company has a market capitalization of $7.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -934.50 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Smartsheet declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Smartsheet news, COO Stephen Robert Branstetter sold 1,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $97,891.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 64,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,403,395. This represents a 2.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jolene Lau Marshall sold 3,571 shares of Smartsheet stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total value of $180,656.89. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,529 shares in the company, valued at $684,432.11. The trade was a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,194 shares of company stock worth $2,248,098. 4.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Smartsheet

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMAR. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Smartsheet in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Smartsheet in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Smartsheet during the third quarter worth $31,000. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Smartsheet during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Smartsheet by 37.5% in 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. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Smartsheet Company Profile

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.