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

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

A number of other analysts have also commented on the stock. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of LivePerson from $3.00 to $2.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Roth Mkm cut shares of LivePerson from a buy rating to a neutral rating and cut their price objective for the company from $6.00 to $2.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Roth Capital cut shares of LivePerson from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. B. Riley cut their price objective on shares of LivePerson from $3.75 to $2.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of LivePerson from $3.50 to $1.50 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $3.08.

LivePerson Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LPSN opened at $1.00 on Tuesday. LivePerson has a 12-month low of $0.96 and a 12-month high of $6.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.88 million, a PE ratio of -0.79 and a beta of 1.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $2.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.87.

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

Insider Activity at LivePerson

In other news, Director William Wesemann acquired 100,000 shares of LivePerson 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 in the company, valued at $374,835. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Vector Capital Management, L.P bought 354,965 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $3.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,231,728.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,899,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,821,112.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William Wesemann bought 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $1.00 per share, with a total value of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 374,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $374,835. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 685,852 shares of company stock valued at $2,148,063 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 9.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LivePerson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. US Bancorp DE increased its position in LivePerson by 132.0% during the 2nd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,985 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 3,405 shares during the period. Options Solutions LLC purchased a new position in LivePerson during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in LivePerson during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in LivePerson by 497.4% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,580 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 8,809 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in LivePerson during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. 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.