LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) Earns "Hold" Rating from Needham & Company LLC

LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold" rating restated by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of LivePerson from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $0.83.

LivePerson Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LPSN traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $0.88. 835,533 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,150,704. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.24, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. LivePerson has a one year low of $0.52 and a one year high of $2.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.10 million, a PE ratio of -0.57 and a beta of 1.75. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $0.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.03.

LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The technology company reported ($1.27) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $68.12 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.06) earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that LivePerson will post -0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Vanessa Pegueros sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 17.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Anthony John Sabino sold 111,020 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.98, for a total value 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. This represents a 3.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 310,204 shares of company stock worth $287,471 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 9.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of LivePerson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of LivePerson during the fourth quarter worth about $68,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of LivePerson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of LivePerson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $66,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in LivePerson by 140.2% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 56,571 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 33,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in LivePerson by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 772,587 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,175,000 after purchasing an additional 21,992 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.