LPSN - Liveperson rises even as Loop Capital downgrades citing need for improved execution

Liveperson ( NASDAQ: LPSN ) shares rose on Wednesday even as investment firm Loop Capital downgraded conversational commerce and AI software company, noting the need for improved sales execution.

Analyst Mark Schappel lowered his rating on Liveperson ( LPSN ) shares to hold from buy, noting that following the company's weaker-than-expected second-quarter and lowered outlook, the stock is likely to be "range bound" until signs of improvement in both the business and sales execution appear.

"While we think there's enough strategic value in the asset and Starboard's influence on the Board should bring much-needed operational change and stability to the company, we now think the stock will be range bound between $14 and $16 until sales execution improves consistently and the business sees progressive signs of improvement," Schappel wrote in a note to clients.

Liveperson ( LPSN ) shares gained more than 3% to $13.39 in early trading.

In addition, Schappel noted that that the overall deal count was "essentially flat" when compared to last year, at 104 versus 105, while there were 5 seven-figure deals, leading to a 23% year-over-year increase in average revenue per user.

Activist investor Jana Partners took a stake in Liveperson ( LPSN ) in the first-quarter, buying 455.4M shares .

Analysts are universally cautious on Liveperson ( LPSN ). It had an average rating of HOLD from Seeking Alpha authors , while Wall Street analysts rate it a HOLD . Conversely, Seeking Alpha's quant system, which consistently beats the market, rates LPSN a HOLD .

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