LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on LZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of LegalZoom.com from $14.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. William Blair upgraded LegalZoom.com from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on LegalZoom.com from $12.00 to $10.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 21st. UBS Group decreased 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, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LegalZoom.com in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.42.

LegalZoom.com Price Performance

LZ stock opened at $6.39 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.22. LegalZoom.com has a 1-year low of $6.14 and a 1-year high of $12.40. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $8.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.74.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.01). LegalZoom.com had a return on equity of 6.17% and a net margin of 2.04%.The business had revenue of $190.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $184.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.19 earnings per share. LegalZoom.com’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that LegalZoom.com will post 0.25 earnings per share for the current year.

LegalZoom.com announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 19th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership 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 on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.96, for a total value of $104,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,480,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LegalZoom.com

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in LegalZoom.com by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 603,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,990,000 after buying an additional 48,894 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in LegalZoom.com by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 224,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,230,000 after purchasing an additional 33,543 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in LegalZoom.com by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 42,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 6,586 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in LegalZoom.com during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,051,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in LegalZoom.com during the 4th quarter worth approximately $429,000. 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.