Canaccord Genuity Group Downgrades Smartsheet (NYSE:SMAR) to Hold

Smartsheet (NYSE:SMAR) was downgraded by equities researchers at Canaccord Genuity Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

SMAR has been the subject of several other research reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Smartsheet from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays lifted their target price on Smartsheet from $50.00 to $56.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $56.50 price target (down previously from $59.00) on shares of Smartsheet in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Smartsheet from $51.00 to $56.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $56.50 price objective (down from $60.00) on shares of Smartsheet in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.21.

Smartsheet Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SMAR opened at $55.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -89.24 and a beta of 0.74. Smartsheet has a 1-year low of $35.52 and a 1-year high of $55.60. The business’s 50 day moving average is $49.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.43.

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

Smartsheet announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark Patrick Mader sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.78, for a total value of $1,035,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 588,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,486,096.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Mark Patrick Mader sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.78, for a total value of $1,035,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 588,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,486,096.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jolene Lau Marshall sold 3,994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 16,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $714,203.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,157 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,763 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Smartsheet

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Smartsheet by 37.5% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 894 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in shares of Smartsheet by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 8,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Smartsheet by 24.6% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Smartsheet by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $872,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Smartsheet by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $670,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.