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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded LegalZoom.com to “buy” from “hold,” but broader analyst sentiment remains negative, with a consensus “reduce” rating and a $7.30 target price.
• LegalZoom shares opened at $5.62, near their 12-month low of $5.22, while the company’s latest quarter showed a modest 6.6% year-over-year revenue increase and EPS of $0.16, slightly above estimates.
• Insiders sold 577,475 shares worth approximately $3.4 million over the past 90 days, although institutional investors own nearly 82% of the stock.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on LZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $7.00 target price (down from $8.00) on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. William Blair cut shares of LegalZoom.com from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of LegalZoom.com in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $7.30.

LegalZoom.com Stock Down 0.5%

LZ stock opened at $5.62 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.31. LegalZoom.com has a twelve month low of $5.22 and a twelve month high of $12.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $962.48 million, a PE ratio of 62.44, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.26.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.01. LegalZoom.com had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 15.83%. The firm had revenue of $205.29 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $205.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.15 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that LegalZoom.com will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Nicole Miller sold 33,479 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.51, for a total value of $184,469.29. Following the transaction, the insider owned 943,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,198,426.03. This trade represents a 3.43% 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 hyperlink. 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, CFO Noel Watson sold 83,629 shares of LegalZoom.com stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.83, for a total transaction of $487,557.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,407,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,207,479.83. The trade was a 5.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 577,475 shares of company stock valued at $3,375,197 over the last 90 days. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LegalZoom.com

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 3.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,552,468 shares of the company's stock worth $27,907,000 after purchasing an additional 132,761 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in LegalZoom.com in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in shares of LegalZoom.com by 289.3% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 269,974 shares of the company's stock worth $1,655,000 after buying an additional 200,618 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of LegalZoom.com by 255.1% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,014 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 3,602 shares during the period. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of LegalZoom.com during the second quarter valued at approximately $268,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

LegalZoom.com Company Profile

LegalZoom.com, Inc is an online platform that provides legal, compliance and business-related services to individuals, families and small businesses. The company helps customers complete common legal and administrative tasks through digital tools, guided document services and access to independent attorneys and other professionals.

Its business services include forming limited liability companies and corporations, obtaining registered-agent services, filing annual reports, managing business licenses and addressing tax-related requirements.

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