LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

Several other brokerages have also commented on LPSN. Mizuho dropped their price target on LivePerson from $3.00 to $2.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Roth Mkm lowered LivePerson from a buy rating to a neutral rating and lowered their target price for the company from $6.00 to $2.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Barclays lowered their target price on LivePerson from $3.50 to $1.50 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Roth Capital lowered LivePerson from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, B. Riley lowered their target price on LivePerson from $3.75 to $2.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $3.08.

LivePerson Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LPSN opened at $1.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.88 million, a PE ratio of -0.79 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.63, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The business has a 50-day moving average of $2.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.87. LivePerson has a 12 month low of $0.96 and a 12 month high of $6.41.

LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The technology company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $95.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $95.54 million. LivePerson had a negative return on equity of 47.71% and a negative net margin of 24.99%. As a group, research analysts forecast that LivePerson will post -0.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at LivePerson

In other LivePerson news, major shareholder Vector Capital Management, L.P acquired 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $3.60 per share, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 10,194,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,700,167.60. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other LivePerson news, major shareholder Vector Capital Management, L.P purchased 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $3.60 per share, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,194,491 shares in the company, valued at $36,700,167.60. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William Wesemann purchased 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1.00 per share, for a total transaction of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 374,835 shares in the company, valued at $374,835. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 685,852 shares of company stock worth $2,148,063 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 9.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of LivePerson by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,132,745 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,823,000 after purchasing an additional 418,503 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in LivePerson by 99.0% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 185,262 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $702,000 after buying an additional 92,178 shares during the period. Vector Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in LivePerson during the 4th quarter worth $37,089,000. Options Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in LivePerson during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Palogic Value Management L.P. raised its stake in LivePerson by 119.5% during the 4th quarter. Palogic Value Management L.P. now owns 856,431 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,246,000 after buying an additional 466,320 shares during the period. 79.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LivePerson Company Profile

LivePerson, Inc engages in conversational artificial intelligence. It enables brands to leverage the Conversational Cloud's intelligence engine to connect with consumers through an integrated suite of mobile and online business messaging technologies. The company offers the Conversational Cloud, an enterprise-class digital customer conversation platform, which enables businesses and consumers to connect through conversational channels, such as voice, in-app, and mobile messaging.