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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded LegalZoom.com to “buy” from “hold,” though the broader analyst consensus remains “hold,” with three buy, three hold, and three sell ratings and an average target price of $8.25.
• LegalZoom reported quarterly revenue of $206.78 million, up 12.9% year over year and above estimates, but earnings per share of $0.12 narrowly missed the $0.13 consensus forecast.
• CEO Jeffrey Stibel purchased 125,000 shares, while the CFO sold 15,000 shares under a pre-arranged plan to cover tax obligations. Institutional investors own approximately 81.99% of the company.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on LZ. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of LegalZoom.com from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of LegalZoom.com from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of LegalZoom.com from $8.50 to $7.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $8.25.

LegalZoom.com Stock Performance

LZ opened at $7.56 on Tuesday. LegalZoom.com has a one year low of $5.22 and a one year high of $12.40. The stock's fifty day moving average is $6.51 and its 200-day moving average is $6.84. The company has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of 126.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.31.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.01). LegalZoom.com had a net margin of 1.46% and a return on equity of 11.53%. The firm had revenue of $206.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $202.14 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.13 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that LegalZoom.com will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jeffrey M. Stibel bought 125,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $6.15 per share, for a total transaction of $768,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Noel Bertram Watson sold 15,000 shares of LegalZoom.com stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was 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 directly owned 2,041,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,169,913.15. This trade represents a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LegalZoom.com

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in LegalZoom.com by 53.6% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 926,425 shares of the company's stock worth $5,253,000 after purchasing an additional 323,201 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 187.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,509,891 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,231,000 after buying an additional 1,636,487 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its position in LegalZoom.com by 5.6% during the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 74,819 shares of the company's stock valued at $424,000 after buying an additional 3,953 shares during the period. Amundi raised its position in LegalZoom.com by 83.2% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 101,925 shares of the company's stock valued at $578,000 after buying an additional 46,285 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in LegalZoom.com by 1,656.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 188,505 shares of the company's stock worth $1,069,000 after acquiring an additional 177,773 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

LegalZoom.com Company Profile

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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