StockNews.com Downgrades LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) to Sell

StockNews.com lowered shares of LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

Separately, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of LivePerson in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $0.88.

LivePerson Stock Up 6.9 %

LPSN stock opened at $0.98 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $88.43 million, a PE ratio of -0.64 and a beta of 1.51. 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 simple moving average is $1.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.12. LivePerson has a fifty-two week low of $0.45 and a fifty-two week high of $2.08.

LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The technology company reported ($1.27) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($1.23). The company had revenue of $73.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.06) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that LivePerson will post -0.41 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of LivePerson

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of LivePerson by 89.9% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 19,006 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 9,000 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of LivePerson by 3.9% in the third 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 position in shares of LivePerson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wolverine Trading LLC increased its position in LivePerson by 104.1% during the third quarter. Wolverine Trading LLC now owns 32,121 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 16,385 shares during the period. Finally, Mystic Asset Management Inc. increased its position in LivePerson by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 50,920 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 18,600 shares during the period. 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.