LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) Sets New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LZ. UBS Group reduced 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 note on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $6.00 price target (down from $9.00) on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of LegalZoom.com from $8.50 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of LegalZoom.com from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LegalZoom.com currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.75.

LegalZoom.com Stock Up 1.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $987.83 million, a PE ratio of 96.10, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50-day moving average of $6.16 and a 200 day moving average of $7.34.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.01). The business 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 revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that LegalZoom.com, Inc. will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at LegalZoom.com

In related news, CEO Jeffrey M. Stibel bought 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $6.15 per share, with a total value of $768,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,955,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,176,995.35. This trade represents a 4.42% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Noel Bertram Watson sold 15,000 shares of LegalZoom.com stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.45, for a total transaction of $96,750.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 2,041,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,169,913.15. The trade was a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of LegalZoom.com

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LZ. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 165.3% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of LegalZoom.com during the 3rd quarter valued at about $20,686,000. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in shares of LegalZoom.com during the 3rd quarter valued at about $18,106,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in LegalZoom.com by 187.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,509,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,231,000 after buying an additional 1,636,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position in LegalZoom.com by 180.5% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,797,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $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 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.