LPSN - LivePerson stock continues to slide even as Credit Suisse upgrades after 57% rout

2023-03-17 08:13:40 ET

LivePerson ( NASDAQ: LPSN ) shares continued to decline in premarket trading on Friday even as Credit Suisse upgraded the software company after it reported weak fourth-quarter results and guidance.

Analyst Fred Lee moved his rating on LivePerson ( LPSN ) shares to neutral from underperform, noting that although the company reported "extremely weak results," the company is in the process of performing a difficult, albeit much needed course correction.

"The reset revenues, as well as the much-needed restructuring, could potentially be a fundamental inflection point for the business, in our view," Lee wrote in an investor note. "However, we expect a slower path to recovery and, thus, in-line stock performance."

Earlier this week, LivePerson ( LPSN ) said it lost an adjusted 55 cents per share during the fourth-quarter, as revenue fell 1.1% year-over-year to $122.4M. Analysts were expecting an adjusted loss of 33 cents per share on revenue of $126.93M.

The company cited its Medicare demonstration program-related reimbursements and the decision to pay employee bonuses in cash instead of stock as the reasons for the shortfall.

Looking ahead, it expects first-quarter revenue to decline to be between $106M and $109M, with an adjusted EBITDA loss between $8M and $5.5M.

For the full-year, sales are expected to be between $395M and $410M, with adjusted EBITDA between $20M and $38M.

Several Wall Street analysts downgraded LivePerson ( LPSN ) on Thursday after the disappointing results and guidance .

Analysts are largely cautious on LivePerson ( LPSN ). It has a HOLD rating from Seeking Alpha authors , while Wall Street analysts rate it a BUY . Conversely, Seeking Alpha's quant system, which consistently beats the market, rates LPSN a SELL .

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