LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) Given “Underweight” Rating at Barclays

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ)‘s stock had its “underweight” rating reiterated by stock analysts at Barclays in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $6.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $9.00. Barclays‘s price objective points to a potential downside of 13.67% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. William Blair upgraded shares of LegalZoom.com from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of LegalZoom.com from $14.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LegalZoom.com in a report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on LegalZoom.com from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on LegalZoom.com from $12.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.42.

LegalZoom.com Stock Performance

NASDAQ LZ opened at $6.95 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $8.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.25. LegalZoom.com has a fifty-two week low of $6.14 and a fifty-two week high of $12.40.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $190.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $184.85 million. LegalZoom.com had a return on equity of 6.35% and a net margin of 2.04%.The firm’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.19 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that LegalZoom.com will post 0.25 EPS for the current year.

LegalZoom.com announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 19th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Nicole Miller sold 23,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.63, for a total value of $154,644.75. Following the sale, the insider owned 813,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,390,408.79. The trade was a 2.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Noel Bertram Watson sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.96, for a total value of $104,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,480,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,306,785.60. The trade was a 1.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 5.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LegalZoom.com

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of LegalZoom.com by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 603,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,990,000 after purchasing an additional 48,894 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of LegalZoom.com by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 224,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,230,000 after buying an additional 33,543 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of LegalZoom.com by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 42,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $426,000 after buying an additional 6,586 shares during the period. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in LegalZoom.com in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,051,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in LegalZoom.com in the fourth quarter worth approximately $429,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.