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

LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of LivePerson from $3.00 to $1.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of LivePerson from $3.50 to $1.50 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Roth Mkm downgraded shares of LivePerson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $6.00 to $2.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Craig Hallum reduced their price target on shares of LivePerson from $3.00 to $1.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of LivePerson in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, LivePerson presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1.58.

LivePerson Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LPSN traded down $0.05 on Thursday, hitting $0.58. The stock had a trading volume of 4,057,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,935,799. LivePerson has a twelve month low of $0.45 and a twelve month high of $6.41. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $0.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.24. The company has a market capitalization of $51.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.46 and a beta of 1.61.

LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 24.99% and a negative return on equity of 47.71%. The firm had revenue of $95.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $95.54 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that LivePerson will post -0.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LivePerson news, EVP Alex Kroman sold 65,828 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.51, for a total transaction 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director William Wesemann purchased 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1.00 per share, with a total value of $100,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 374,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $374,835. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 $61,223.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 73,662 shares of company stock valued at $40,411. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of LivePerson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LPSN. Options Solutions LLC bought a new stake in LivePerson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in LivePerson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in LivePerson by 497.4% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,580 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 8,809 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in LivePerson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in 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 in the last quarter. 79.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.