Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP Trims Holdings in LegalZoom.com, Inc. $LZ

Key Points

• Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP sold 3,284,936 shares of LegalZoom.com, reducing its stake by 56.0%, leaving it with 2,577,036 shares, which accounts for 1.0% of their investment portfolio.
• LegalZoom.com experienced a stock price increase of 1.4%, with shares opening at $11.00 and proclaiming a market capitalization of $1.98 billion.
• After reporting an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.15, LegalZoom.com anticipates posting an EPS of 0.25 for the current fiscal year, reflecting a year-over-year revenue increase of 8.5%.

Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP cut its position in shares of LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ - Free Report) by 56.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,577,036 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,284,936 shares during the period. LegalZoom.com makes up 1.0% of Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP owned 1.42% of LegalZoom.com worth $22,188,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Bosun Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in LegalZoom.com during the 1st quarter worth approximately $284,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in LegalZoom.com by 158.6% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 939,999 shares of the company's stock worth $8,093,000 after buying an additional 576,528 shares during the period. Amundi purchased a new stake in LegalZoom.com during the 1st quarter worth approximately $196,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in LegalZoom.com by 25.8% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40,213 shares of the company's stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 8,241 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its stake in LegalZoom.com by 169.1% during the 1st quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 1,190,167 shares of the company's stock worth $10,247,000 after buying an additional 747,960 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Noel Bertram Watson sold 27,319 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.07, for a total value of $302,421.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,676,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,558,035.82. This represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John Francis Murphy sold 24,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.57, for a total transaction of $256,322.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 69,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $739,403.21. The trade was a 25.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 109,859 shares of company stock worth $1,193,100. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

LegalZoom.com Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LZ traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $10.35. The stock had a trading volume of 2,476,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,116,052. The firm's 50 day moving average is $9.73 and its 200-day moving average is $9.02. LegalZoom.com, Inc. has a 1 year low of $6.16 and a 1 year high of $11.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.25.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.15. LegalZoom.com had a net margin of 4.07% and a return on equity of 20.36%. The business had revenue of $192.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $182.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. LegalZoom.com has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts forecast that LegalZoom.com, Inc. will post 0.25 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Bank of America raised shares of LegalZoom.com from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $8.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of LegalZoom.com from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of LegalZoom.com from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of LegalZoom.com from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $10.83.

About LegalZoom.com

LegalZoom.com, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates an online platform that supports the legal, compliance, and business management needs of small businesses and consumers in the United States. The company's platform offers business formation products, such as limited liability company, incorporation of C and S corporations, nonprofit formations, doing-business-as, corporate changes and filings, business licenses, legal forms, and beneficial ownership information reports; intellectual property products consisting of trademark and patent applications, and copyright registrations; and tax services, including business and personal tax preparations.