LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $8.25.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of LegalZoom.com from $8.50 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group dropped 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 note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of LegalZoom.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday.

LegalZoom.com Price Performance

LZ stock opened at $7.56 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 126.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.31. LegalZoom.com has a 52-week low of $5.22 and a 52-week high of $12.40. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.84.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at LegalZoom.com

In other LegalZoom.com news, CFO Noel Bertram Watson sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.45, for a total value of $96,750.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 firm’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 sale, the insider directly owned 1,119,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,364,480.76. This trade 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. Corporate insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in LegalZoom.com by 53.6% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 926,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,253,000 after acquiring an additional 323,201 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in LegalZoom.com by 187.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,509,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,231,000 after purchasing an additional 1,636,487 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its position in LegalZoom.com by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 74,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 3,953 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in LegalZoom.com by 83.2% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 101,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $578,000 after purchasing an additional 46,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 1,656.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 188,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 177,773 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.