Wall Street Zen Downgrades LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) to Hold

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

LZ has been the topic of a number of other reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of LegalZoom.com from $8.50 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of LegalZoom.com from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of LegalZoom.com from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LegalZoom.com has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.25.

LegalZoom.com Price Performance

LZ stock opened at $7.72 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 128.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.31. LegalZoom.com has a twelve month low of $5.22 and a twelve month high of $12.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $6.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.96.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $206.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $202.14 million. LegalZoom.com had a return on equity of 11.53% and a net margin of 1.46%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that LegalZoom.com will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LegalZoom.com news, CEO Jeffrey M. Stibel purchased 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.15 per share, with a total value of $768,750.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,955,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,176,995.35. This trade represents a 4.42% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nicole Miller sold 19,199 shares of LegalZoom.com stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.58, for a total transaction of $126,329.42. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,119,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,364,480.76. This trade represents a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 7.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LegalZoom.com

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of LegalZoom.com by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,408,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,757,000 after buying an additional 758,367 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 165.3% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,730,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,044,000 after buying an additional 2,324,481 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its stake in LegalZoom.com by 81.0% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,623,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,054,000 after buying an additional 1,621,125 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in LegalZoom.com by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,327,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,537,000 after buying an additional 90,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in LegalZoom.com by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,112,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,650,000 after acquiring an additional 91,131 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

LegalZoom.com Company Profile

LegalZoom.com, Inc (NASDAQ: LZ) operates as a leading online legal technology company that provides a broad range of legal and business services to individuals, families and small businesses. Through its digital platform, the company offers customized legal documents and filing services, including business formation (LLCs, corporations and nonprofits), estate planning (wills and trusts), intellectual property protection (trademarks and copyrights), and ongoing compliance support. LegalZoom also connects customers with independent attorneys for consultations on matters such as family law, immigration and real estate.

Founded in 2001 by entrepreneurs Brian Lee, Brian P.