LPSN - LivePerson falls after weak Q4 earnings; analysts downgrade on results guidance

2023-03-16 09:04:39 ET

LivePerson ( NASDAQ: LPSN ) fell ~50% Thursday pre-market after the software company posted Q4 miss and analysts downgraded on weak results and guidance.

The company's Q4 GAAP EPS of -$0.55, misses by $0.22, and revenue of $122.4M (-1.1% Y/Y) misses by $4.53M.

LivePerson cited its Medicare demonstration program-related reimbursements and the decision to pay employee bonuses in cash instead of stock to be the two main reasons for the disappointing quarterly results.

For Q1'23, revenue is expected to be in the range of $106M to $109M, or -18.5% to -16.1% Y/Y. The consensus estimate is 127.63M. Adjusted EBITDA loss is expected to range from -$8M to -$5.5M, or a margin of -7.4% to -5.1%.

For FY23, revenue is expected to range from $395M to $410M, or -18.9% to -2% on a yearly basis. The consensus revenue estimate is $525.88M. Adjusted EBITDA is estimated to range from $20M to $38M, or a margin of 5.1% to 9.3%.

"LPSN's 4Q22 results were weak and its outlook for 2023 leaves us again lowering forecasts already dramatically cut in mid-2022," Roth analyst Richard Baldry said in a note.

Baldry has downgraded his rating on the company to Neutral from Buy, and lowered the price target to $6.00, considering unexpectedly weak sales, ongoing losses and stressed liquidity.

LPSN was also downgraded at Craig-Hallum to Hold from Buy, and the price target was cut to $6.00, with the agency saying the quarter was below on the top and far below on the bottom line.

"We got a much deeper revenue cut and expenses as expected, yielding much lower EBITDA in '23 than expected. Deal sizes and new bookings were softer than expected as well," an analyst note said.

Meanwhile, Barclays analyst Ryan Macwilliams lowered the price target on the company to $4 from $11, maintain an Underweight rating, and Loop Capital analyst Mark Schappel lowered the price target to $8 from $12.

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