LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) Trading 7.9% Higher – What’s Next?

LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) traded up 7.9% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $7.06 and last traded at $7.0650. Approximately 732,761 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 3,115,215 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.55.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on LegalZoom.com from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of LegalZoom.com from $8.50 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of LegalZoom.com from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. UBS Group cut 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. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $6.00 price objective (down from $9.00) on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LegalZoom.com has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.25.

LegalZoom.com Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 117.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $6.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.19.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.01). LegalZoom.com had a net margin of 1.46% and a return on equity of 11.53%. The company had revenue of $206.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $202.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share. LegalZoom.com’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that LegalZoom.com, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Nicole Miller sold 19,199 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.58, for a total transaction of $126,329.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,119,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,364,480.76. The trade was a 1.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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, CEO Jeffrey M. Stibel acquired 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $6.15 per share, with a total value of $768,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 2,955,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,176,995.35. The trade was a 4.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LegalZoom.com

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 477.3% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 4,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 3,766 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 976.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 4,140 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 11,415.2% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 7,534 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in LegalZoom.com by 8,589.8% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 5,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in LegalZoom.com during the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.