Renaissance Technologies LLC Takes $1.96 Million Position in Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT)

Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Sprout Social, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPT) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 54,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,959,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.10% of Sprout Social at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SPT. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sprout Social during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sprout Social during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Sprout Social by 35,450.0% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sprout Social during the 1st quarter valued at about $61,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Sprout Social by 49.0% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares in the last quarter.

Sprout Social Stock Performance

SPT stock opened at $28.57 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of -22.86 and a beta of 0.98. Sprout Social, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.05 and a 12-month high of $68.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.75.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $99.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.70 million. Sprout Social had a negative net margin of 19.60% and a negative return on equity of 44.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.23) EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sprout Social, Inc. will post -0.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sprout Social news, Director Aaron Edward Frederick Rankin sold 1,181 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.23, for a total transaction of $34,520.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 42,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,226.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Aaron Edward Frederick Rankin sold 1,181 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.23, for a total transaction of $34,520.63. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 42,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,226.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Ryan Paul Barretto sold 13,306 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.23, for a total transaction of $388,934.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 470,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,761,747.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 80,782 shares of company stock worth $2,615,786. Corporate insiders own 10.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SPT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp lowered Sprout Social from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $28.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Sprout Social in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Sprout Social from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays cut their price target on Sprout Social from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Sprout Social in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.31.

Sprout Social Company Profile

Sprout Social, Inc designs, develops, and operates a web-based social media management platform in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company provides cloud software for social messaging, data and workflows in a unified system of record, intelligence, and action.