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.

LPSN has been the subject of a number of other reports. Roth Mkm lowered LivePerson from a buy rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $6.00 to $2.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on LivePerson from $3.00 to $1.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Mizuho cut their price target on LivePerson from $3.00 to $2.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Barclays reduced their price target on LivePerson from $3.50 to $1.50 and set an underweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, B. Riley reduced their price target on LivePerson from $3.75 to $2.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $2.58.

LivePerson Trading Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ:LPSN opened at $0.58 on Wednesday. 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 1-year low of $0.45 and a 1-year high of $6.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.45 and a beta of 1.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $0.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.30.

LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 47.71% and a negative net margin of 24.99%. The business had revenue of $95.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $95.54 million. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 business’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,223.97. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other LivePerson news, Director William Wesemann purchased 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1.00 per share, for a total transaction of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 374,835 shares in the company, valued at $374,835. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 120,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,223.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 73,662 shares of company stock worth $40,411. 9.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LPSN. AIGH Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of LivePerson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,102,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in LivePerson by 77.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,737,186 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,758,000 after buying an additional 755,945 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in LivePerson during the third quarter worth $1,905,000. Palogic Value Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of LivePerson by 119.5% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Worth Venture Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LivePerson during the 4th quarter worth about $1,519,000. 79.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.