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

LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday following insider buying activity. 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 traded.

Specifically, CEO Jeffrey M. Stibel acquired 125,000 shares of LegalZoom.com stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $6.15 per share, for a total transaction of $768,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LZ shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on LegalZoom.com from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded LegalZoom.com from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $6.00 price objective (down from $9.00) on shares of LegalZoom.com in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on LegalZoom.com from $14.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded LegalZoom.com from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.25.

LegalZoom.com Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $6.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.16. The stock has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 105.93, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.33.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $206.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $202.14 million. LegalZoom.com had a return on equity of 11.53% and a net margin of 1.46%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that LegalZoom.com, Inc. will post 0.27 EPS for the current year.

LegalZoom.com declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 19th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in 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 an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LegalZoom.com

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of 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. Invenomic Capital Management LP raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 390,742 shares during the period. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC bought a new position in LegalZoom.com during the third quarter worth about $18,106,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in LegalZoom.com in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,304,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its stake in LegalZoom.com by 120.4% in the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 166,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after acquiring an additional 90,762 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.