LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

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

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on LPSN. Roth Capital downgraded shares of LivePerson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of LivePerson from $3.00 to $2.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of LivePerson from $3.50 to $1.50 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. B. Riley reduced their price objective on shares of LivePerson from $3.75 to $2.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Roth Mkm downgraded shares of LivePerson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $6.00 to $2.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.58.

LivePerson Stock Up 6.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ LPSN opened at $0.50 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.43. The firm has a market cap of $43.62 million, a PE ratio of -0.39 and a beta of 1.50. LivePerson has a 1 year low of $0.45 and a 1 year high of $6.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.63, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $95.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $95.54 million. LivePerson had a negative net margin of 24.99% and a negative return on equity of 47.71%. On average, research analysts forecast that LivePerson will post -0.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Alex Kroman sold 65,828 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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 the SEC website. In other news, Director William Wesemann bought 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1.00 per share, for a total transaction of $100,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 374,835 shares in the company, valued at $374,835. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alex Kroman sold 65,828 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now 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 worth $40,411 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LivePerson

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised 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 period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of LivePerson by 54.6% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 15,124 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 5,342 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its stake in shares of LivePerson by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 215,540 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $817,000 after purchasing an additional 5,455 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of LivePerson by 32.2% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 26,271 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 6,399 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of LivePerson by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 156,200 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 7,600 shares during the period. 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.