LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on LZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on LegalZoom.com from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group reduced their price target on LegalZoom.com from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of LegalZoom.com in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on LegalZoom.com from $8.50 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.25.

LegalZoom.com Price Performance

LZ stock opened at $8.08 on Tuesday. LegalZoom.com has a 1 year low of $5.22 and a 1 year high of $12.40. The company has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 134.69, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $6.55 and a 200 day moving average of $6.83.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.01). LegalZoom.com had a return on equity of 11.53% and a net margin of 1.46%.The company had revenue of $206.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $202.14 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that LegalZoom.com will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LegalZoom.com news, CFO Noel Bertram Watson sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 2,041,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,169,913.15. This trade represents a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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. Also, insider Nicole Miller sold 19,199 shares of LegalZoom.com stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.58, for a total transaction of $126,329.42. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,119,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,364,480.76. The trade was a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Corporate insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in LegalZoom.com by 255.5% during the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 231,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,302,000 after purchasing an additional 166,574 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in LegalZoom.com by 87.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 613,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,092,000 after buying an additional 287,063 shares during the last quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of LegalZoom.com by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,627,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,087,000 after buying an additional 500,787 shares in the last quarter. Bastion Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of LegalZoom.com in the first quarter worth approximately $1,093,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LegalZoom.com during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,304,000. 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.