LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $6.95, but opened at $6.46. LegalZoom.com shares last traded at $6.68, with a volume of 493,576 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LZ shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of LegalZoom.com from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of LegalZoom.com from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. William Blair upgraded LegalZoom.com from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. UBS Group reduced their target price on LegalZoom.com from $12.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on LegalZoom.com from $12.00 to $10.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.42.

LegalZoom.com Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 82.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.60.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.01). LegalZoom.com had a net margin of 2.04% and a return on equity of 6.35%. The company had revenue of $190.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.85 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. LegalZoom.com’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that LegalZoom.com, Inc. will post 0.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LegalZoom.com announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other LegalZoom.com news, insider Nicole Miller sold 23,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.63, for a total value of $154,644.75. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 813,033 shares in the company, valued at $5,390,408.79. The trade was a 2.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Noel Bertram Watson sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.96, for a total transaction of $104,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,480,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,306,785.60. This trade represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LZ. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in LegalZoom.com by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 603,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,990,000 after acquiring an additional 48,894 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 224,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,230,000 after purchasing an additional 33,543 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of LegalZoom.com by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 42,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 6,586 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in LegalZoom.com in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,051,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in LegalZoom.com in the 4th quarter valued at about $429,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.