LivePerson, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPSN) Short Interest Up 33.2% in March

LivePerson, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPSN - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,710,000 shares, a growth of 33.2% from the March 15th total of 8,790,000 shares. Currently, 14.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,240,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.2 days.

LivePerson Stock Performance

LPSN stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $0.77. 918,259 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,931,803. LivePerson has a 1-year low of $0.46 and a 1-year high of $2.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.24, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $0.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.06. The firm has a market cap of $70.05 million, a P/E ratio of -0.50 and a beta of 1.67.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($1.23). The business had revenue of $73.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.12 million. LivePerson had a negative net margin of 18.72% and a negative return on equity of 111.48%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.06) EPS. On average, analysts expect that LivePerson will post -0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on LPSN shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of LivePerson from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of LivePerson in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LivePerson presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $0.88.

Insider Transactions at LivePerson

In other news, CEO Anthony John Sabino sold 166,213 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.90, for a total value of $149,591.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,920,384 shares in the company, valued at $2,628,345.60. This trade represents a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Vanessa Pegueros sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 139,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $125,993.70. This represents a 17.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 310,204 shares of company stock worth $287,471. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of LivePerson

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LPSN. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in LivePerson by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 402,345 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 15,032 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in LivePerson during the fourth quarter worth about $68,000. Dodds Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in LivePerson during the 4th quarter valued at about $96,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in LivePerson during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in LivePerson in the 4th quarter valued at about $66,000. 79.83% of the stock is 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.