LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) Shares Gap Up Following Insider Buying Activity

LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $6.10, but opened at $6.56. LegalZoom.com shares last traded at $6.3230, with a volume of 441,486 shares.

Specifically, CEO Jeffrey M. Stibel purchased 125,000 shares of LegalZoom.com stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $6.15 per share, for a total transaction of $768,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,955,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,176,995.35. This represents a 4.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings cut LegalZoom.com from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $6.00 target price (down from $9.00) on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Zacks Research raised LegalZoom.com from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of LegalZoom.com from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of LegalZoom.com from $14.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.25.

LegalZoom.com Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 105.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a 50-day moving average of $6.23 and a 200-day moving average of $8.16.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $206.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $202.14 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that LegalZoom.com, Inc. will post 0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LegalZoom.com announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 19th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of LegalZoom.com

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of LegalZoom.com by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 41,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,403 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its stake in LegalZoom.com by 58.5% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 3,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,441 shares during the last quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in LegalZoom.com by 11.6% during the third quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC now owns 14,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,470 shares during the period. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp grew its holdings in LegalZoom.com by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 13,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

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.