StockNews.com Downgrades LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) to Sell

StockNews.com cut shares of LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning.

LPSN has been the subject of a number of other reports. Mizuho dropped their price target on LivePerson from $3.00 to $2.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Roth Capital lowered LivePerson from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Roth Mkm lowered LivePerson from a buy rating to a neutral rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $6.00 to $2.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. B. Riley reduced their target price on LivePerson from $3.75 to $2.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on LivePerson from $3.50 to $1.50 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LivePerson has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $2.58.

LivePerson Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPSN opened at $0.51 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $1.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.63, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20. LivePerson has a one year low of $0.45 and a one year high of $6.41. The company has a market capitalization of $44.54 million, a P/E ratio of -0.40 and a beta of 1.49.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Alex Kroman sold 65,828 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.51, for a total transaction of $33,572.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 120,047 shares in the company, valued at $61,223.97. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Alex Kroman sold 65,828 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.51, for a total value of $33,572.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,047 shares in the company, valued at $61,223.97. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director William Wesemann purchased 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $1.00 per share, with a total value of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 374,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $374,835. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 73,662 shares of company stock worth $40,411. Company insiders own 9.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of LivePerson by 12.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 93,084 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 10,027 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in LivePerson by 77.0% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,737,186 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,758,000 after purchasing an additional 755,945 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its holdings in LivePerson by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 59,914 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 29,957 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in LivePerson by 2.2% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 237,258 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $923,000 after purchasing an additional 5,151 shares during the period. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP boosted its position in LivePerson by 13.4% during the third quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 152,112 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $592,000 after acquiring an additional 18,030 shares during the last quarter. 79.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.