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

Shares of LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three 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 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $8.75.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LZ. Zacks Research upgraded LegalZoom.com from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. 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 decreased their price objective on LegalZoom.com from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on LegalZoom.com from $14.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut LegalZoom.com from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LegalZoom.com news, CEO Jeffrey M. Stibel bought 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $6.15 per share, for a total transaction of $768,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,955,609 shares in the company, valued at $18,176,995.35. This trade represents a 4.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicole Miller sold 19,199 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 1,119,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,364,480.76. The trade was 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 owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LegalZoom.com

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LZ. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in LegalZoom.com by 165.3% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,730,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,044,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324,481 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in LegalZoom.com during the third quarter worth approximately $20,686,000. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in LegalZoom.com during the third quarter worth approximately $18,106,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in LegalZoom.com by 187.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,509,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,231,000 after buying an additional 1,636,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in LegalZoom.com by 180.5% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,797,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,014,000 after buying an additional 1,156,462 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

LegalZoom.com Stock Performance

Shares of LZ opened at $5.91 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 98.52, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.31. LegalZoom.com has a 1 year low of $5.28 and a 1 year high of $12.40.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $206.78 million during 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.13 EPS. Analysts predict that LegalZoom.com will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

LegalZoom.com announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 19th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.