LivePerson, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPSN) Short Interest Up 30.6% in May

LivePerson, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPSN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,100,000 shares, a growth of 30.6% from the April 30th total of 8,500,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,220,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 9.1 days. Currently, 13.5% of the company's stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on LPSN shares. Wall Street Zen lowered LivePerson from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of LivePerson in a research note on Thursday, May 8th.

LivePerson Trading Up 0.2%

LPSN stock traded up $0.00 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $0.79. 126,255 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,616,599. LivePerson has a 52-week low of $0.52 and a 52-week high of $2.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.24, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The business has a 50 day moving average of $0.78 and a 200-day moving average of $0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.51 and a beta of 1.75.

LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The technology company reported ($1.27) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($1.23). LivePerson had a negative net margin of 18.72% and a negative return on equity of 111.48%. The company had revenue of $73.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.12 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.06) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that LivePerson will post -0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at LivePerson

In other LivePerson news, CEO Anthony John Sabino sold 111,020 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,243,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,178,942.62. The trade was a 3.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Vanessa Pegueros sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.90, for a total value of $27,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 139,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at $125,993.70. This represents a 17.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 310,204 shares of company stock worth $287,471 over the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LivePerson

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPSN. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 9,000 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in LivePerson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mystic Asset Management Inc. lifted 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 valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 18,600 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in LivePerson by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 772,587 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,175,000 after acquiring an additional 21,992 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in LivePerson by 7.0% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 398,261 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $318,000 after acquiring an additional 26,163 shares during the last quarter. 79.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.