LivePerson, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPSN) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of LivePerson, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPSN) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the five brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $0.88.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LPSN. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of LivePerson in a report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of LivePerson from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Vanessa Pegueros sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.90, for a total transaction of $27,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 139,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $125,993.70. This trade represents a 17.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Anthony John Sabino sold 111,020 shares of LivePerson stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.98, for a total transaction of $108,799.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,243,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,178,942.62. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 307,233 shares of company stock valued at $285,391. 9.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LivePerson

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of LivePerson by 89.9% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 19,006 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 9,000 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in LivePerson by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 402,345 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 15,032 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in LivePerson in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Wolverine Trading LLC grew its holdings in LivePerson by 104.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wolverine Trading LLC now owns 32,121 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 16,385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mystic Asset Management Inc. increased its position in LivePerson by 57.5% during the 4th quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 50,920 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 18,600 shares during the period. 79.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LivePerson Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPSN opened at $0.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.24, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1.05 and a 200-day moving average of $1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.43 and a beta of 1.67. LivePerson has a fifty-two week low of $0.45 and a fifty-two week high of $2.08.

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

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.