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

LivePerson, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPSN) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Investors purchased 9,084 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 456% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,633 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on LPSN. Craig Hallum downgraded LivePerson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $1.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com upgraded LivePerson from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1.25.

LivePerson Price Performance

Shares of LPSN traded up $0.21 on Monday, hitting $1.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,213,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,821,786. The company has a market capitalization of $105.60 million, a PE ratio of -0.76 and a beta of 1.73. LivePerson has a fifty-two week low of $0.45 and a fifty-two week high of $3.98. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $0.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.24, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Insider Transactions at LivePerson

In related news, CAO Jeffrey Ford sold 21,935 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 378,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $431,725.98. This trade represents a 5.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 84,944 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.85, for a total value of $72,202.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 236,879 shares of company stock worth $207,708. Insiders own 9.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LivePerson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in LivePerson by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 418,396 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 12,273 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of LivePerson during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in shares of LivePerson by 25.8% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 456,251 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 93,693 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of LivePerson in the second quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in LivePerson in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $159,000. 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.