LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) Trading Down 6% – Here’s Why

LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ)’s share price was down 6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $5.32 and last traded at $5.2850. Approximately 621,334 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 3,107,342 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lowered 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 report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of LegalZoom.com in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of LegalZoom.com from $8.50 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.00 price target (down from $8.00) on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut LegalZoom.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $7.30.

LegalZoom.com Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $910.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.06, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $6.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.60.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.01. LegalZoom.com had a return on equity of 15.83% and a net margin of 2.13%.The business had revenue of $205.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $205.83 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.15 earnings per share. LegalZoom.com’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that LegalZoom.com, Inc. will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Nicole Miller sold 19,199 shares of the company’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 transaction 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. This represents a 1.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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. Company insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 165.3% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,730,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,044,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324,481 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new position in LegalZoom.com in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $20,686,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in LegalZoom.com by 187.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,509,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,231,000 after buying an additional 1,636,487 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its position in LegalZoom.com by 180.5% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in LegalZoom.com during the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,526,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently 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.