Value
6.8/10data confidence 100%| Component | Sub-score |
|---|---|
| P/E | 7.5 |
| P/S | 8.4 |
| EV/EBITDA | 0.8 |
| Fwd P/E | 9.1 |
| PEG | 10.0 |
| Analyst target | 4.0 |
- ▸Forward P/E: 11.5x
- ▸PEG: 0.25
RAMP · Why this verdict
Why LiveRamp Holdings (RAMP) is rated SELL
Updated
Model-generated analysis — not investment advice. Not a registered investment advisor. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Show full disclosure ▾Hide full disclosure ▴
About TrendMatrix. TrendMatrix is a publisher of general securities research and market commentary. We publish on a regular schedule. All content is the same for every subscriber in a tier — we do not provide personalized investment advice and we do not take into account any individual subscriber's financial situation, investment objectives, risk tolerance, tax situation, or holdings.
Not investment advice. TrendMatrix is not a registered investment adviser. Our content is for informational and educational purposes only. Consult your own licensed investment adviser, broker, or tax professional before making any investment decision.
Conflicts and positions. The TrendMatrix editorial team frequently holds personal long-term positions in securities discussed. We disclose positions held at the time of publication on each piece. We maintain a trading-window policy: we do not initiate or close positions in the same direction as a TrendMatrix publication within 24 hours before or 72 hours after publication.
No paid promotion. TrendMatrix does not accept payment from any issuer, broker, or third party in exchange for coverage of any security. Our sole compensation is subscription revenue.
No fiduciary duty. No fiduciary, advisory, or agency relationship is created between you and TrendMatrix by reading our content or subscribing to our service.
Performance. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Performance figures reflect the published model only and do not reflect any individual subscriber's actual results.
VerdictSELL
Overall score6.1/10
ConfidenceMEDIUM
MacroNEUTRAL
TrendMatrix Research · core thesis
Engine thesis — one sentence
LiveRamp Holdings is a data infrastructure software company with a perfect 4-for-4 earnings beat streak averaging 9.4% positive surprises, strong gross margins of 18%, and a Piotroski F-Score of 8 out of 9, but the stock has already reached its analyst price target with negative upside of -1.1%, a momentum score of 3.1 out of 10, and an elevated put/call ratio of 2.05 suggesting defensive hedging by current holders.
Falsifiable statement — pillar-level invalidators below. Engine-derived; not personalized advice.
Thesis pillars
| Pillar | Expectation | Trend |
|---|---|---|
At $37.57, the stock trades above its near-term resistance target of $37.16 and negative upside territory, and an officer departure or appointment has been flagged in the 8-K filings, suggesting potential leadership instability at a critical point in the company's growth trajectory. Warnings | Analyst consensus price target rises above $45 following confirmation of revenue acceleration and leadership stability. | →Stable |
| CounterThe company is within 0.9% of its 52-week high with the stock above its 200-day moving average, meaning the technical position is actually favorable even though the specific upside to the current analyst target is minimal. | ||
Gross margins of 18% combined with a Piotroski F-Score of 8 out of 9 and a Rule of 40 contribution of approximately the revenue growth and margin expansion indicate a financially healthy software business with the metrics expected of a data infrastructure platform. Quality breakdown | Gross margins expand above 20% within the next 2 annual reporting periods as revenue scales. | →Stable |
| CounterThe leverage penalty from a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.0 creates a persistent drag on the quality score and exposes the company to refinancing risk if free cash flow growth decelerates. | ||
LiveRamp has beaten earnings estimates in all four of the last four quarters with an average positive surprise of 9.4%, including a 15.4% beat in November 2025 and a 12.8% beat in February 2026, demonstrating that management consistently sets achievable guidance and then outperforms. Earnings | The earnings beat streak extends to at least 6 consecutive quarters with average positive surprise above 5%. | →Stable |
| CounterThe company's momentum score of 3.1 out of 10 indicates the market is not rewarding the earnings beats with price appreciation, suggesting investors are discounting the quality of the beats or are concerned about longer-term growth prospects. | ||
A put/call ratio of 2.05 is significantly elevated and indicates that options market participants are purchasing more than twice as many puts as calls on the stock, signaling that current holders are hedging against downside risk or that bearish speculators expect a price decline from current levels. Key risks | The put/call ratio declines below 1.0 within 6 months as the stock consolidates and hedging demand normalizes. | →Stable |
| CounterElevated put/call ratios can represent protective hedging by long institutional holders rather than outright bearish bets, particularly for a company near its 52-week high where locking in gains via puts is a common portfolio management strategy. | ||
At $37.57, the stock trades above its near-term resistance target of $37.16 and negative upside territory, and an officer departure or appointment has been flagged in the 8-K filings, suggesting potential leadership instability at a critical point in the company's growth trajectory.
→StableWarnings
- Expectation
- Analyst consensus price target rises above $45 following confirmation of revenue acceleration and leadership stability.
CounterThe company is within 0.9% of its 52-week high with the stock above its 200-day moving average, meaning the technical position is actually favorable even though the specific upside to the current analyst target is minimal.
Gross margins of 18% combined with a Piotroski F-Score of 8 out of 9 and a Rule of 40 contribution of approximately the revenue growth and margin expansion indicate a financially healthy software business with the metrics expected of a data infrastructure platform.
→StableQuality breakdown
- Expectation
- Gross margins expand above 20% within the next 2 annual reporting periods as revenue scales.
CounterThe leverage penalty from a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.0 creates a persistent drag on the quality score and exposes the company to refinancing risk if free cash flow growth decelerates.
LiveRamp has beaten earnings estimates in all four of the last four quarters with an average positive surprise of 9.4%, including a 15.4% beat in November 2025 and a 12.8% beat in February 2026, demonstrating that management consistently sets achievable guidance and then outperforms.
→StableEarnings
- Expectation
- The earnings beat streak extends to at least 6 consecutive quarters with average positive surprise above 5%.
CounterThe company's momentum score of 3.1 out of 10 indicates the market is not rewarding the earnings beats with price appreciation, suggesting investors are discounting the quality of the beats or are concerned about longer-term growth prospects.
A put/call ratio of 2.05 is significantly elevated and indicates that options market participants are purchasing more than twice as many puts as calls on the stock, signaling that current holders are hedging against downside risk or that bearish speculators expect a price decline from current levels.
→StableKey risks
- Expectation
- The put/call ratio declines below 1.0 within 6 months as the stock consolidates and hedging demand normalizes.
CounterElevated put/call ratios can represent protective hedging by long institutional holders rather than outright bearish bets, particularly for a company near its 52-week high where locking in gains via puts is a common portfolio management strategy.
Per-dimension breakdown
Quality
6.6/10data confidence 100%| Component | Sub-score |
|---|---|
| ROE | 5.0 |
| ROA | 2.9 |
| Gross margin | 10.0 |
| Op margin | 3.6 |
| Net margin | 9.0 |
| Current ratio | 8.4 |
| FCF quality | 6.7 |
| Moat | 6.2 |
| Rule of 40 | 5.5 |
| Piotroski F | 8.9 |
- ▸Strong margins: 18%
- ▸Strong Piotroski F-Score: 8/9
Growth
7.4/10data confidence 67%| Component | Sub-score |
|---|---|
| Rev growth | 4.8 |
| EPS growth | 10.0 |
Momentum
2.5/10data confidence 100%| Component | Sub-score |
|---|---|
| RSI | 5.5 |
| MACD | 0.0 |
| OBV | 1.0 |
| MA position | 6.0 |
| Volume | 0.0 |
- ▸Volume distribution (falling OBV)
- ▸Above 200-day MA
Sentiment
7.1/10data confidence 100%| Component | Sub-score |
|---|---|
| LLM sentiment | 8.5 |
| Analyst rating | 6.6 |
| Price target | 6.3 |
- ▸LLM news sentiment: +0.70 (n=2)
- ▸Light analyst coverage (6.0) — signal dampened
Insider
5.0/10data confidence 50%| Component | Sub-score |
|---|---|
| materiality | 5.0 |
| holder change | 5.1 |
- ▸No net insider activity — $0 (0.000% of mkt cap)
Peer rank
5.2/10data confidence 80%| Component | Sub-score |
|---|---|
| value rank | 6.9 |
| quality rank | 6.5 |
| growth rank | 2.5 |
Technical
9.0/10data confidence 100%| Component | Sub-score |
|---|---|
| bollinger | 9.4 |
| support resistance | 8.0 |
| 52w position | 9.7 |
Risk (lower is worse)
5.2/10data confidence 100%| Component | Sub-score |
|---|---|
| short interest | 4.9 |
| days to cover | 9.1 |
| volatility | 10.0 |
| put call | 0.0 |
| implied vol | 6.4 |
| max pain risk | 3.0 |
| beta | 5.9 |
| debt equity | 2.0 |
- ▸Elevated put/call: 9.67
- ▸Above max pain $30
Catalyst
6.3/10data confidence 100%| Component | Sub-score |
|---|---|
| erm | 3.5 |
| earnings history | 10.0 |
| earnings timing | 5.0 |
| surprise avg | 7.2 |
| news activity | 6.0 |
- ▸Perfect beat streak: 4Q
How the verdict was assembled
Engine trigger
Multiple concerning factors. Consider reducing position.
Engine technical detail
verdict_path:
L4:PATH_F_SELLPassed (4)
- INSIDER:OK
- EARNINGS_PROXIMITY:41d clear
- SEMI_CYCLE_PEAK:CLEAR
- MATERIALS_CYCLE_PEAK:CLEAR
Failed (2)
- MOMENTUM:2.5<4.5
- ASYMMETRY:-0.4=NEGATIVE
Warning (1)
- 8K_CSUITE_CHANGE:5.02 (officer departure/appointment)
Reward-to-Risk
-0.37
Upside
-5.5%
Downside
15.0%
Sizing output
AVOID
SetupUNKNOWN — No clear chart pattern; technical signals are mixed
EdgeNO_EDGE — No clear edge identified
SuitabilityAGGRESSIVE — MCap $2.3B<$5B
Investment implication
The F-path SELL output reflects an overall score of 4.6 below the 5.6 soft trigger — multiple weakening dimensions accumulated rather than a single hard-floor breach. The strongest dimension ( Technical at 9.0) was not enough to lift the adjusted overall above the threshold. Co-occurring failed gates ( MOMENTUM:2.5<4.5, ASYMMETRY:-0.4=NEGATIVE) reinforce the read. Current asymmetry R:R is -0.37 — supplementary context, not the trigger for this path.
The strongest dimensions are Technical at 9.0, Growth at 7.4, and Sentiment at 7.1; the weakest are Momentum at 2.5, Insider at 5.0, and Risk (lower is worse) at 5.2. The V9 engine flagged 2 failed gates with 1 warning, producing an asymmetric reward-to-risk of -0.37 and an engine sizing output of AVOID.
What would invalidate the thesis
Falsifying conditions — when triggered, the corresponding pillar's thesis is invalidated.
- P1LiveRamp has beaten earnings estimates in all four of the last four quarters with an average positive surprise of 9.4%, including a 15.4% beat in November 2025 and a 12.8% beat in February 2026, demonstrating that management consistently sets achievable guidance and then outperforms.
Trip ifEPS surprise falls below 0% in at least 2 of the next 4 quarters.
- P2At $37.57, the stock trades above its near-term resistance target of $37.16 and negative upside territory, and an officer departure or appointment has been flagged in the 8-K filings, suggesting potential leadership instability at a critical point in the company's growth trajectory.
Trip ifAnalyst consensus price target declines below $32, more than 15% below the current price.
- P3Gross margins of 18% combined with a Piotroski F-Score of 8 out of 9 and a Rule of 40 contribution of approximately the revenue growth and margin expansion indicate a financially healthy software business with the metrics expected of a data infrastructure platform.
Trip ifGross margins fall below 14% in any reported annual period.
- P4A put/call ratio of 2.05 is significantly elevated and indicates that options market participants are purchasing more than twice as many puts as calls on the stock, signaling that current holders are hedging against downside risk or that bearish speculators expect a price decline from current levels.
Trip ifThe put/call ratio rises above 3.0, indicating accelerated bearish positioning beyond the current level.