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

LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $9.4167.

LZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded LegalZoom.com from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on LegalZoom.com from $14.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective (down from $9.00) on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of LegalZoom.com from $12.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of LegalZoom.com from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd.

LegalZoom.com Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LZ opened at $6.25 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 78.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.30. LegalZoom.com has a fifty-two week low of $5.28 and a fifty-two week high of $12.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.44.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $190.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.85 million. LegalZoom.com had a return on equity of 6.35% and a net margin of 2.04%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.19 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that LegalZoom.com will post 0.27 EPS for the current year.

LegalZoom.com announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 19th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at LegalZoom.com

In other news, CFO Noel Bertram Watson sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.96, for a total transaction of $104,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,480,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,306,785.60. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Nicole Miller sold 23,325 shares of LegalZoom.com stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.63, for a total transaction of $154,644.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 813,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,390,408.79. The trade was a 2.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of LegalZoom.com

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in LegalZoom.com during the third quarter worth $34,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new position in LegalZoom.com during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its position in LegalZoom.com by 58.5% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 3,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,441 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in LegalZoom.com by 477.3% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 4,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 3,766 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in LegalZoom.com by 976.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 4,140 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.