LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) Receives Consensus Rating of "Reduce" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts rate LegalZoom.com “Reduce” overall: Three analysts recommend selling and five recommend holding, with an average 12-month price target of $7.30 versus the stock’s $6.23 opening price.
• LegalZoom reported quarterly EPS of $0.16, slightly above expectations, while revenue of $205.29 million fell just short of estimates but increased 6.6% year over year.
• Insiders sold 577,475 shares worth approximately $3.38 million over the past 90 days, although institutional investors continue to own about 81.99% of the company.

LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Reduce" from the eight research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $7.30.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $7.00 price target (down from $8.00) on shares of LegalZoom.com in a report on Thursday, August 6th. William Blair lowered LegalZoom.com from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of LegalZoom.com from $8.50 to $7.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of LegalZoom.com in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded LegalZoom.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th.

LegalZoom.com Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of LegalZoom.com stock opened at $6.23 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.22, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.26. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $6.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.36. LegalZoom.com has a 12-month low of $5.22 and a 12-month high of $12.40.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $205.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $205.83 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.15 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that LegalZoom.com will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LegalZoom.com news, insider Nicole Miller sold 33,479 shares of LegalZoom.com stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 943,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,198,426.03. The trade was a 3.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.83, for a total value of $487,557.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,407,801 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,207,479.83. The trade was a 5.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 577,475 shares of company stock valued at $3,375,197 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 7.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of LegalZoom.com

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LZ. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LegalZoom.com in the second quarter valued at about $47,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in LegalZoom.com by 289.3% during the second 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 raised its position in LegalZoom.com by 255.1% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,014 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 3,602 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in shares of LegalZoom.com in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $268,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of LegalZoom.com in the second quarter valued at $67,000. 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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