LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded LegalZoom.com to “Hold” from “Buy,” while the broader analyst consensus is “Reduce,” with five Hold and three Sell ratings and an average price target of $7.30.
• LegalZoom shares opened at $5.77, near their 52-week low of $5.22 and well below the 52-week high of $12.40. The company’s latest quarterly EPS of $0.16 narrowly beat estimates, while revenue rose 6.6% year over year to $205.29 million.
• CEO Jeffrey Stibel bought 125,000 shares at an average price of $6.15, while another insider sold shares under a pre-arranged plan to cover tax obligations; insiders own 7.4% of the company, and institutional investors hold 81.99%.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on LZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $7.00 price objective (down from $8.00) on shares of LegalZoom.com in a report on Thursday. William Blair cut shares of LegalZoom.com from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of LegalZoom.com from $8.50 to $7.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of LegalZoom.com from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LegalZoom.com presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $7.30.

LegalZoom.com Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ LZ opened at $5.77 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $6.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.72. LegalZoom.com has a 52-week low of $5.22 and a 52-week high of $12.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $988.17 million, a P/E ratio of 64.11, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.28.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.01. LegalZoom.com had a return on equity of 15.83% and a net margin of 2.13%.The company had revenue of $205.29 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $205.83 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.15 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that LegalZoom.com will post 0.34 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at LegalZoom.com

In related news, CEO Jeffrey M. Stibel acquired 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $6.15 per share, for a total transaction of $768,750.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,955,609 shares in the company, valued at $18,176,995.35. This represents a 4.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nicole Miller sold 19,199 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.58, for a total value of $126,329.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,119,222 shares in the company, valued at $7,364,480.76. This represents 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. Insiders own 7.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of LegalZoom.com

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in LegalZoom.com by 477.3% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 4,555 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 3,766 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of LegalZoom.com by 976.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,564 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 4,140 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 11,415.2% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 7,534 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 8,589.8% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,127 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 5,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in shares of LegalZoom.com during the first quarter worth approximately $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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