LivePerson, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPSN) Short Interest Up 29.2% in February

LivePerson, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPSN) was the target of a large growth in short interest in 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 daily volume of 3,780,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on LPSN shares. StockNews.com cut LivePerson from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Craig Hallum lowered shares of 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of LivePerson in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $0.88.

Insider Transactions at LivePerson

In other news, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 84,944 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.85, for a total transaction of $72,202.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LivePerson

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPSN. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of LivePerson during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $513,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in LivePerson by 42.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd raised its holdings in LivePerson by 1,162.0% during the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 210,770 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 194,069 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in LivePerson during the fourth quarter worth $152,000. Finally, Dodds Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in LivePerson during the fourth quarter worth $96,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.83% of the company’s stock.

LivePerson Stock Performance

Shares of LPSN stock traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $0.96. The company had a trading volume of 2,362,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,272,077. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.15. LivePerson has a 52-week low of $0.45 and a 52-week high of $2.08. The stock has a market cap of $86.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.63 and a beta of 1.59.

LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The technology company reported ($1.27) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.06) EPS. Research analysts anticipate that LivePerson will post -0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.