LivePerson Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:LPSN)

Key Points

• Investors significantly increased their interest in LivePerson, purchasing 4,152 call options, a 141% rise compared to the usual volume.
• LivePerson's stock price dropped by 16.1% to $0.91, with a trading volume surpassing its average at 6,506,768 shares.
• Insider activity includes CEO Anthony John Sabino selling 68,088 shares and major shareholder Vector Capital Management selling 252,776 shares, reflecting a decrease in their ownership stakes.

LivePerson, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPSN - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Traders acquired 4,152 call options on the stock. Thisisanincreaseof141% compared to the average daily volume of 1,721 call options.

LivePerson Price Performance

NASDAQ LPSN traded down $0.02 on Tuesday, hitting $0.91. 1,047,294 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,639,022. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $1.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $0.90. LivePerson has a fifty-two week low of $0.61 and a fifty-two week high of $2.08. The firm has a market cap of $88.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.45 and a beta of 1.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LPSN has been the subject of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of LivePerson in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded LivePerson from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Vector Capital Management, L.P sold 252,776 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.98, for a total value of $247,720.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,984,277 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,804,591.46. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Anthony John Sabino sold 68,088 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.75, for a total value of $51,066.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,852,296 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,139,222. The trade was a 2.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,012,664 shares of company stock valued at $1,996,054 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LivePerson

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LPSN. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in LivePerson by 42.0% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 906,027 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,377,000 after purchasing an additional 267,827 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in LivePerson during the second quarter worth $246,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in LivePerson during the fourth quarter worth $152,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its position in LivePerson by 146.1% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 73,794 shares of the technology company's stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 43,804 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of LivePerson in the fourth quarter valued at $66,000. 79.83% of the stock is 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.