LivePerson, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPSN) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

LivePerson, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPSN - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,460,000 shares, a drop of 16.3% from the July 31st total of 6,520,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,580,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LPSN. Craig Hallum raised their price objective on LivePerson from $1.25 to $1.40 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of LivePerson from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of LivePerson from $0.75 to $1.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of LivePerson in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on LivePerson from $2.00 to $0.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1.32.

LivePerson Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LPSN traded down $0.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $1.23. 1,864,751 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,649,748. LivePerson has a 12 month low of $0.45 and a 12 month high of $4.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.04. The firm has a market cap of $109.49 million, a PE ratio of -0.85 and a beta of 1.73.

LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The technology company reported ($0.74) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by ($0.58). LivePerson had a negative net margin of 24.23% and a negative return on equity of 101.10%. The firm had revenue of $79.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.62 million. Research analysts expect that LivePerson will post -0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at LivePerson

In other LivePerson news, EVP Alex Kroman sold 120,047 shares of LivePerson stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.64, for a total transaction of $76,830.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Alex Kroman sold 120,047 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.64, for a total transaction of $76,830.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO John Deneen Collins sold 83,735 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.12, for a total transaction of $93,783.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 372,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $417,457.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 246,696 shares of company stock valued at $220,795 over the last three months. 9.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LivePerson

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Options Solutions LLC bought a new position in LivePerson in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in LivePerson in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. RPO LLC bought a new position in LivePerson in the fourth quarter valued at about $89,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of LivePerson in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. boosted its stake in shares of LivePerson by 45.0% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 66,443 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 20,627 shares in the last quarter. 79.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

LivePerson Company Profile

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.