LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) Stock Price Down 5.3% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) dropped 5.3% on Tuesday after Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The company traded as low as $7.34 and last traded at $7.2950. 486,444 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 3,097,888 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.70.

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

Insider Transactions at LegalZoom.com

In related news, CFO Noel Bertram Watson sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.45, for a total transaction of $96,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,041,847 shares in the company, valued at $13,169,913.15. The trade was a 0.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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. Also, insider Nicole Miller sold 19,199 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.58, for a total value of $126,329.42. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,119,222 shares in the company, valued at $7,364,480.76. This represents a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LegalZoom.com

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LZ. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in LegalZoom.com by 477.3% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 4,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 3,766 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 976.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 4,140 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 11,415.2% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 7,534 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of LegalZoom.com by 8,589.8% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 5,068 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in shares of LegalZoom.com during the first quarter worth $58,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LegalZoom.com Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 118.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $6.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.90.

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

About LegalZoom.com

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.