LivePerson, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPSN) Short Interest Down 16.3% in August

LivePerson, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPSN) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,460,000 shares, a decline of 16.3% from the July 31st total of 6,520,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,580,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Insider Activity

In other LivePerson news, EVP Monica L. Greenberg sold 34,441 shares of LivePerson stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.12, for a total value of $38,573.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 181,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,399.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other LivePerson news, EVP Alex Kroman sold 120,047 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.64, for a total value of $76,830.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Monica L. Greenberg sold 34,441 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.12, for a total transaction of $38,573.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 181,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,399.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 246,696 shares of company stock valued at $220,795. Insiders own 9.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Options Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LivePerson in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in LivePerson during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. RPO LLC purchased a new position in LivePerson in the fourth quarter worth about $89,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of LivePerson in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. grew its holdings in shares of LivePerson by 45.0% during the first quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 66,443 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 20,627 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.83% of the company’s stock.

LivePerson Stock Down 3.1 %

NASDAQ:LPSN opened at $1.23 on Monday. LivePerson has a 1-year low of $0.45 and a 1-year high of $4.74. The company has a market capitalization of $109.49 million, a PE ratio of -0.85 and a beta of 1.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.04, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36.

LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The technology company reported ($0.74) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by ($0.58). LivePerson had a negative return on equity of 101.10% and a negative net margin of 24.23%. The business had revenue of $79.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.62 million. On average, equities analysts predict that LivePerson will post -0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho dropped their price objective on LivePerson from $2.00 to $0.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 13th. StockNews.com lowered LivePerson from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of LivePerson in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Craig Hallum upped their price objective on shares of LivePerson from $1.25 to $1.40 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of LivePerson from $0.75 to $1.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1.32.

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.