Smartsheet (NYSE:SMAR) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume After Analyst Upgrade

Smartsheet Inc (NYSE:SMAR) shares saw strong trading volume on Wednesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $50.00 to $56.50. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. 3,134,250 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 86% from the previous session’s volume of 1,687,042 shares.The stock last traded at $55.44 and had previously closed at $55.46.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim raised 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. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Smartsheet from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Smartsheet in a report on Tuesday. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Smartsheet in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Smartsheet from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jolene Lau Marshall sold 3,994 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.11, for a total value of $172,181.34. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $714,203.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Jolene Lau Marshall sold 3,994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.11, for a total transaction of $172,181.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 16,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $714,203.37. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Stephen Robert Branstetter sold 2,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total transaction of $96,192.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 61,791 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,965,968. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 35,157 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,763. Insiders own 4.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smartsheet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SMAR. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Smartsheet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,388,000. Granahan Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Smartsheet by 908.1% during the fourth quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 1,040,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,767,000 after purchasing an additional 937,483 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Smartsheet by 188.0% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,349,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,844,000 after purchasing an additional 881,004 shares during the period. Engaged Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Smartsheet during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,600,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Smartsheet by 40.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,835,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,931,000 after purchasing an additional 533,278 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Smartsheet Trading Down 0.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $7.69 billion, a PE ratio of -89.24 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50 day moving average is $49.17 and its 200-day moving average is $43.43.

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

Smartsheet declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.