LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) Lowered to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has downgraded LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating, raising concerns among investors about the company's future performance.
• The stock opened at $0.99, with a 52-week range between $0.61 and $2.08 and a market capitalization of approximately $92.61 million.
• Insiders, including CEO Anthony John Sabino, have sold significant amounts of shares recently, indicating potential concerns about the company's prospects.

LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Separately, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of LivePerson in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1.00.

LivePerson Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of LivePerson stock traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $1.07. 1,590,832 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,139,875. LivePerson has a 1 year low of $0.6102 and a 1 year high of $2.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $0.96 and a 200-day moving average of $0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.54 and a beta of 1.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at LivePerson

In other LivePerson news, CEO Anthony John Sabino sold 68,088 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.75, for a total value of $51,066.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,852,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,139,222. This represents a 2.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Vector Capital Management, L.P sold 955,412 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.99, for a total value of $945,857.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,237,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,144,682.47. The trade was a 9.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,012,664 shares of company stock valued at $1,996,054 in the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LPSN. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of LivePerson by 140.2% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 56,571 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 33,021 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of LivePerson by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 772,587 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,175,000 after buying an additional 21,992 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of LivePerson in the fourth quarter valued at $66,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of LivePerson in the fourth quarter valued at $57,000. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of LivePerson in the fourth quarter valued at $152,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.83% of the company's stock.

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.