Analysts Set LivePerson, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPSN) Price Target at $0.88

Shares of LivePerson, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPSN) have been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat 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 target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $0.88.

Several research firms have commented on LPSN. StockNews.com downgraded LivePerson from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of LivePerson in a research note on Thursday, March 6th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Vanessa Pegueros sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.90, for a total value of $27,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 139,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $125,993.70. The trade was a 17.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Anthony John Sabino sold 166,213 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 5.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 307,233 shares of company stock worth $285,391 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in LivePerson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of LivePerson by 89.9% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Wolverine Trading LLC grew its stake in LivePerson by 104.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wolverine Trading LLC now owns 32,121 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 16,385 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in LivePerson during the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in LivePerson during the 4th quarter valued at about $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.83% of the company’s stock.

LivePerson Trading Down 9.6 %

NASDAQ LPSN opened at $0.68 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $61.66 million, a PE ratio of -0.44 and a beta of 1.51. LivePerson has a 12 month low of $0.45 and a 12 month high of $2.08. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.24.

LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The technology company reported ($1.27) 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 company had revenue of $73.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.12 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.06) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that LivePerson will post -0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

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.