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

Equities research analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) in a research note issued on Wednesday. The firm set a “sell” rating on the technology company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. B. Riley lowered their price target on shares of LivePerson from $3.75 to $2.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Roth Capital downgraded LivePerson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on LivePerson from $3.00 to $2.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on LivePerson from $3.00 to $1.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Roth Mkm downgraded shares of LivePerson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $6.00 to $2.00 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LivePerson presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.58.

LivePerson Stock Performance

Shares of LivePerson stock opened at $0.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $44.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.39 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.63. LivePerson has a twelve month low of $0.45 and a twelve month high of $6.41. The company’s fifty day moving average is $1.06 and its 200 day moving average is $2.34.

LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The technology company reported ($0.26) 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 company had revenue of $95.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $95.54 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that LivePerson will post -0.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LivePerson news, EVP Alex Kroman sold 65,828 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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 through this hyperlink. In other LivePerson news, EVP Alex Kroman sold 65,828 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,223.97. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William Wesemann bought 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $1.00 per share, for a total transaction of $100,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 374,835 shares in the company, valued at $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. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of LivePerson by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 93,084 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 10,027 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 755,945 shares during the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of LivePerson by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 59,914 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 29,957 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of LivePerson by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 237,258 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $923,000 after purchasing an additional 5,151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of LivePerson by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 152,112 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $592,000 after purchasing an additional 18,030 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.83% of the company’s stock.

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.