Citigroup Issues Pessimistic Forecast for LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) Stock Price

Key Points

• Citigroup cut its price target on LegalZoom.com from $8.50 to $7.50 while keeping a neutral rating, signaling a more cautious outlook on the stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock currently has an average Hold rating and a consensus target price of $8.75, with several firms recently lowering targets or maintaining bearish views.
• LegalZoom’s latest results were mixed, with Q1 EPS of $0.12 missing estimates by a penny even as revenue came in above expectations and rose 12.9% year over year.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by equities researchers at Citigroup from $8.50 to $7.50 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. Citigroup's target price would suggest a potential upside of 17.83% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on LZ. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of LegalZoom.com from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research raised shares of LegalZoom.com from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $6.00 target price (down from $9.00) on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of LegalZoom.com from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $8.75.

LegalZoom.com Price Performance

Shares of LegalZoom.com stock traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $6.37. The stock had a trading volume of 440,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,258,529. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $6.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.93. The stock has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 106.10, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.33. LegalZoom.com has a 12 month low of $5.28 and a 12 month high of $12.40.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $206.78 million during 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%.LegalZoom.com's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.13 EPS. Analysts expect that LegalZoom.com will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LegalZoom.com announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 19th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at LegalZoom.com

In related news, insider Nicole Miller sold 19,199 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.58, for a total value of $126,329.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,119,222 shares in the company, valued at $7,364,480.76. The trade was a 1.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 Bertram Watson sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 represents a 0.73% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 57,524 shares of company stock worth $377,724. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LegalZoom.com

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LZ. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in LegalZoom.com in the 4th quarter worth $185,000. Amundi purchased a new stake in LegalZoom.com in the 1st quarter worth $196,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 3.0% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 74,980 shares of the company's stock worth $646,000 after buying an additional 2,161 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 9.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,313,429 shares of the company's stock worth $11,309,000 after buying an additional 113,769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 1.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 275,978 shares of the company's stock worth $2,376,000 after buying an additional 4,607 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

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.

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