LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) Trading Up 7.9% Following Analyst Upgrade

LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) shares rose 7.9% on Tuesday after Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The company traded as high as $8.06 and last traded at $8.1550. 235,444 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 3,051,764 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.56.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on LegalZoom.com from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup reduced their price target on LegalZoom.com from $8.50 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of LegalZoom.com from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LegalZoom.com has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.25.

Insider Transactions at LegalZoom.com

In related news, CEO Jeffrey M. Stibel acquired 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $6.15 per share, with a total value of $768,750.00. Following 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Nicole Miller sold 19,199 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.58, for a total value of $126,329.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,119,222 shares in the company, valued at $7,364,480.76. The trade was 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. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of LegalZoom.com

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in LegalZoom.com by 477.3% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 4,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 3,766 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in LegalZoom.com by 976.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 4,140 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in LegalZoom.com by 8,589.8% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 5,068 shares during the period. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of LegalZoom.com in the fourth quarter worth $74,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in LegalZoom.com by 91.4% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 7,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

LegalZoom.com Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 135.91, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s 50 day moving average is $6.51 and its 200 day moving average is $6.84.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.12 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $202.14 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.13 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that LegalZoom.com, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.