LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 decreased their price objective on shares of LegalZoom.com from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of LegalZoom.com from $8.50 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of LegalZoom.com from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.25.

LegalZoom.com Stock Performance

NASDAQ LZ opened at $6.92 on Friday. LegalZoom.com has a fifty-two week low of $5.22 and a fifty-two week high of $12.40. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.16. The stock has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 115.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.31.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $206.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $202.14 million. LegalZoom.com had a net margin of 1.46% and a return on equity of 11.53%. LegalZoom.com’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that LegalZoom.com will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Noel Bertram Watson sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.45, for a total value of $96,750.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,041,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,169,913.15. This represents a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.58, for a total value of $126,329.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider 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 position. 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. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of LegalZoom.com

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in LegalZoom.com by 255.5% during the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 231,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,302,000 after purchasing an additional 166,574 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its stake in LegalZoom.com by 87.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 613,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,092,000 after purchasing an additional 287,063 shares in the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP raised its holdings in LegalZoom.com by 43.9% in the third quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 1,281,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,305,000 after buying an additional 390,742 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in LegalZoom.com by 60.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,170,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,528,000 after buying an additional 817,462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of LegalZoom.com by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,627,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,087,000 after buying an additional 500,787 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

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.