LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold” Rating

LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on LPSN. Craig Hallum cut shares of LivePerson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $1.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of LivePerson in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on LivePerson from $0.75 to $1.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1.25.

LivePerson Trading Down 4.5 %

LPSN opened at $0.78 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.10 million, a PE ratio of -0.51 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.24, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.36. LivePerson has a 12-month low of $0.45 and a 12-month high of $3.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $1.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $0.97.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Jeffrey Ford sold 21,935 shares of LivePerson stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.14, for a total value of $25,005.90. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 378,707 shares in the company, valued at $431,725.98. This trade represents a 5.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John Deneen Collins sold 85,126 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.05, for a total transaction of $89,382.30. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 287,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $301,984.20. The trade was a 22.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 9.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LivePerson

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPSN. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in LivePerson by 264.0% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 226,087 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 163,978 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of LivePerson by 6.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,656,439 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,634,000 after acquiring an additional 523,694 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of LivePerson during the first quarter valued at approximately $143,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its holdings in LivePerson by 1,633.2% during the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 205,173 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 193,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in LivePerson by 94.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 125,352 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 60,874 shares during the period. 79.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.