LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Shares of LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $9.12, but opened at $8.17. LegalZoom.com shares last traded at $7.8950, with a volume of 880,002 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LZ shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of LegalZoom.com from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered LegalZoom.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. William Blair raised shares of LegalZoom.com from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on LegalZoom.com from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LegalZoom.com in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.50.

LegalZoom.com Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of 61.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of $9.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.95.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $190.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.27 million. LegalZoom.com had a net margin of 3.05% and a return on equity of 9.91%. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.17 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that LegalZoom.com, Inc. will post 0.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Nicole Miller sold 23,506 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.63, for a total transaction of $226,362.78. Following the sale, the insider owned 868,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,364,878.01. This represents a 2.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Noel Bertram Watson sold 15,000 shares of LegalZoom.com stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.56, for a total value of $143,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,551,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,833,123.92. This trade represents a 0.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LegalZoom.com

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of LegalZoom.com during the third quarter worth $20,686,000. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in LegalZoom.com during the 3rd quarter valued at $18,106,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 180.5% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,797,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,014,000 after buying an additional 1,156,462 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of LegalZoom.com by 507.3% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,842,000 after purchasing an additional 922,829 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in LegalZoom.com by 60.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,170,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,528,000 after purchasing an additional 817,462 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.