LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) Stock Price Up 8.6% – What’s Next?

LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) shares shot up 8.6% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $6.38 and last traded at $6.5160. 211,763 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 3,246,404 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LZ. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of LegalZoom.com from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. UBS Group cut their target price on LegalZoom.com from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on LegalZoom.com from $14.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $6.00 price target (down from $9.00) on shares of LegalZoom.com in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded LegalZoom.com from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.25.

LegalZoom.com Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 106.77, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $6.15 and a 200 day moving average of $8.04.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company 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 firm posted $0.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that LegalZoom.com, Inc. will post 0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jeffrey M. Stibel purchased 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $6.15 per share, for a total transaction of $768,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,955,609 shares in the company, valued at $18,176,995.35. This trade represents a 4.42% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing 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 on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LegalZoom.com

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust bought a new stake in LegalZoom.com during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in LegalZoom.com by 58.5% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 3,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,441 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in LegalZoom.com by 976.4% in 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. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in LegalZoom.com by 11,415.2% in 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. 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.