LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) Trading Up 6.4% – Still a Buy?

LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) shot up 6.4% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $7.72 and last traded at $7.7110. 609,045 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 3,128,971 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on LZ. Citigroup reduced their price objective on LegalZoom.com from $8.50 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of LegalZoom.com from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of LegalZoom.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LegalZoom.com has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.25.

LegalZoom.com Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $6.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.04. The stock has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 128.60, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.31.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.12 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $202.14 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that LegalZoom.com, Inc. will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at LegalZoom.com

In other LegalZoom.com news, CFO Noel Bertram Watson sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.45, for a total value of $96,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 2,041,847 shares in the company, valued at $13,169,913.15. This represents a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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, insider Nicole Miller sold 19,199 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.58, for a total value of $126,329.42. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,119,222 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,364,480.76. The trade was a 1.69% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LegalZoom.com

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in LegalZoom.com by 20.8% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,408,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,757,000 after buying an additional 758,367 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 165.3% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,730,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,044,000 after acquiring an additional 2,324,481 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of LegalZoom.com by 81.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,623,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,054,000 after acquiring an additional 1,621,125 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,327,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,537,000 after acquiring an additional 90,599 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,112,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,650,000 after acquiring an additional 91,131 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is 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.