LivePerson, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPSN) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

LivePerson, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPSN) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,120,000 shares, an increase of 20.3% from the March 31st total of 6,750,000 shares. Currently, 11.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,010,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

LivePerson Stock Down 7.7 %

LPSN stock opened at $0.50 on Wednesday. LivePerson has a twelve month low of $0.45 and a twelve month high of $6.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.63. The stock has a market cap of $44.13 million, a P/E ratio of -0.39 and a beta of 1.50. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $1.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.34.

LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The technology company reported ($0.26) earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $95.54 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that LivePerson will post -0.68 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LPSN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on LivePerson in a report on Wednesday. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Barclays decreased their target price on LivePerson from $3.50 to $1.50 and set an “underweight” 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 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 report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Roth Mkm downgraded 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 report on Thursday, February 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William Wesemann bought 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $1.00 per share, with a total value of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 374,835 shares in the company, valued at $374,835. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Alex Kroman sold 65,828 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 120,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,223.97. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William Wesemann acquired 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1.00 per share, with a total value of $100,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 374,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $374,835. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 73,662 shares of company stock valued at $40,411 over the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of LivePerson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPSN. Options Solutions LLC bought a new stake in LivePerson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in LivePerson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised 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 valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 8,809 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in LivePerson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in LivePerson by 54.6% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 15,124 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 5,342 shares during the last quarter. 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.