LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday.

Separately, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of LivePerson in a report on Thursday, May 8th.

LivePerson Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPSN opened at $0.88 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $0.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.02. LivePerson has a 52-week low of $0.52 and a 52-week high of $2.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.68 million, a P/E ratio of -0.58 and a beta of 1.75.

LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The technology company reported ($1.27) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($1.23). LivePerson had a negative return on equity of 111.48% and a negative net margin of 18.72%. The business had revenue of $73.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.12 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.06) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that LivePerson will post -0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vanessa Pegueros sold 30,000 shares of LivePerson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.90, for a total transaction of $27,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 139,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $125,993.70. The trade was a 17.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Anthony John Sabino sold 166,213 shares of LivePerson stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.90, for a total value of $149,591.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,920,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,628,345.60. This trade represents a 5.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 310,204 shares of company stock valued at $287,471. Insiders own 9.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LivePerson

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of LivePerson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of LivePerson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of LivePerson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,000. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of LivePerson by 140.2% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 56,571 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 33,021 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of LivePerson by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 772,587 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,175,000 after acquiring an additional 21,992 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.83% of the company’s stock.

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.