LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

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

LegalZoom.com Stock Performance

Shares of LZ opened at $7.56 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of 126.02, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $6.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.84. LegalZoom.com has a 52 week low of $5.22 and a 52 week high of $12.40.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.01). LegalZoom.com had a return on equity of 11.53% and a net margin of 1.46%.The company had revenue of $206.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $202.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.13 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that LegalZoom.com will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other LegalZoom.com news, CEO Jeffrey M. Stibel acquired 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $6.15 per share, for a total transaction of $768,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 2,955,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,176,995.35. This trade represents a 4.42% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicole Miller sold 19,199 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,364,480.76. This represents a 1.69% decrease in their position. 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. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.