StockNews.com Begins Coverage on LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN)

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) in a research note released on Wednesday. The firm issued a sell rating on the technology company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on LPSN. Roth Mkm downgraded shares of LivePerson from a buy rating to a neutral rating and cut their price target for the company from $6.00 to $2.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Roth Capital lowered LivePerson from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on LivePerson from $3.00 to $1.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Mizuho lowered their price target on LivePerson from $3.00 to $2.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, B. Riley cut their price objective on LivePerson from $3.75 to $2.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LivePerson has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $2.58.

LivePerson Stock Performance

Shares of LPSN opened at $0.58 on Wednesday. LivePerson has a 52-week low of $0.45 and a 52-week high of $6.41. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $0.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.30. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $50.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.45 and a beta of 1.61.

LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 47.71% and a negative net margin of 24.99%. The firm had revenue of $95.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $95.54 million. Research analysts forecast 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 on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased 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 directly owns 374,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $374,835. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 shares were 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 approximately $61,223.97. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William Wesemann bought 100,000 shares of LivePerson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $1.00 per share, for a total transaction of $100,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 374,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $374,835. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 73,662 shares of company stock valued at $40,411 over the last 90 days. 9.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of LivePerson

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of LivePerson by 264.0% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 226,087 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 163,978 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in LivePerson by 131.3% during the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 406,123 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 230,564 shares during the last quarter. Options Solutions LLC bought a new position in LivePerson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Palogic Value Management L.P. lifted its position in LivePerson by 119.5% in the fourth quarter. Palogic Value Management L.P. now owns 856,431 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,246,000 after purchasing an additional 466,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of LivePerson by 54.6% during 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 during the period. 79.83% of the stock is 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.