LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $5.25 and last traded at $5.2550, with a volume of 610344 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $5.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on LZ shares. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $6.00 price target (down from $9.00) on shares of LegalZoom.com in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Zacks Research upgraded LegalZoom.com from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered LegalZoom.com from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Citigroup cut 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. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of LegalZoom.com from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.75.

LegalZoom.com Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.39. The stock has a market cap of $914.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.31.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.01). LegalZoom.com had a net margin of 1.46% and a return on equity of 11.53%. The business had revenue of $206.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $202.14 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.13 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that LegalZoom.com, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jeffrey M. Stibel purchased 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $6.15 per share, with a total value of $768,750.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,955,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,176,995.35. The trade was a 4.42% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nicole Miller sold 19,199 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.58, for a total value of $126,329.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly 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 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. 5.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of LegalZoom.com

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in LegalZoom.com by 60.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,170,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,528,000 after buying an additional 817,462 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 87.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 613,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,092,000 after acquiring an additional 287,063 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 255.5% during the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 231,773 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,302,000 after acquiring an additional 166,574 shares during the period. Invenomic Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 43.9% during the 3rd quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 1,281,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,305,000 after acquiring an additional 390,742 shares during the period. Finally, Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LegalZoom.com during the 3rd quarter valued at about $18,106,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.