LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) Rating Reiterated by Needham & Company LLC

LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN)‘s stock had its “hold” rating restated by analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on LivePerson in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Roth Capital lowered shares of LivePerson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of LivePerson from $3.50 to $1.50 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. B. Riley cut their price target on shares of LivePerson from $3.75 to $2.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Roth Mkm downgraded shares of LivePerson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $6.00 to $2.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.58.

LivePerson Stock Performance

Shares of LivePerson stock opened at $0.63 on Thursday. LivePerson has a one year low of $0.45 and a one year high of $6.41. The company has a market capitalization of $55.89 million, a PE ratio of -0.50 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.63, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $0.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.25.

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

Insider Activity at LivePerson

In other news, Director William Wesemann purchased 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were bought 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other LivePerson news, EVP Alex Kroman sold 65,828 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now 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 the SEC website. Also, Director William Wesemann acquired 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired 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 directly owns 374,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $374,835. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 73,662 shares of company stock worth $40,411 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LivePerson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Options Solutions LLC purchased a new position in LivePerson during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in LivePerson in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in LivePerson by 497.4% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,580 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 8,809 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of LivePerson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 5,342 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.83% of the company’s stock.

About LivePerson

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.