LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) Downgraded by StockNews.com

LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

LPSN has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of LivePerson from $3.00 to $2.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. B. Riley reduced their price objective on LivePerson from $3.75 to $2.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Roth Capital downgraded LivePerson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Barclays cut their price target on LivePerson from $3.50 to $1.50 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Roth Mkm downgraded LivePerson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $6.00 to $2.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.08.

LivePerson Price Performance

Shares of LivePerson stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Monday, reaching $0.46. 3,065,853 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,773,224. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.63, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. LivePerson has a 1-year low of $0.46 and a 1-year high of $6.41. The company has a market cap of $40.80 million, a P/E ratio of -0.36 and a beta of 1.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.45.

LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) last issued its 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 business 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 anticipate that LivePerson will post -0.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Alex Kroman sold 65,828 shares of the company’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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other LivePerson news, Director William Wesemann acquired 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $1.00 per share, with a total value of $100,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 374,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $374,835. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Alex Kroman sold 65,828 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.51, for a total value of $33,572.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,047 shares in the company, valued at $61,223.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 73,662 shares of company stock valued at $40,411 over the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LivePerson

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPSN. Options Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of LivePerson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of LivePerson during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in LivePerson by 497.4% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,580 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 8,809 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in LivePerson in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in LivePerson by 54.6% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 15,124 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 5,342 shares in the last quarter. 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.