Short Interest in LivePerson, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPSN) Grows By 29.2%

LivePerson, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPSN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,740,000 shares, a growth of 29.2% from the January 31st total of 9,090,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,780,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut LivePerson from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of LivePerson in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Craig Hallum downgraded shares of LivePerson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $1.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $0.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at LivePerson

In other news, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 84,944 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.85, for a total value of $72,202.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 9.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LPSN. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of LivePerson by 42.0% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 906,027 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,377,000 after purchasing an additional 267,827 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its holdings in LivePerson by 146.1% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 73,794 shares of the technology company's stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 43,804 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in LivePerson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $152,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in LivePerson during the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in LivePerson during the 4th quarter worth $66,000. 79.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LivePerson Stock Performance

Shares of LivePerson stock traded up $0.01 on Friday, reaching $0.93. 1,547,147 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,257,776. The firm has a market cap of $84.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.61 and a beta of 1.59. LivePerson has a 1-year low of $0.45 and a 1-year high of $2.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.24, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company's 50-day moving average is $1.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.14.

LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN - Get Free Report) last issued its 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). LivePerson had a negative return on equity of 111.48% and a negative net margin of 18.72%. The company had revenue of $73.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.12 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.06) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that LivePerson will post -0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.