LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) was the target of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 10,817,341 shares, an increase of 25.4% from the December 15th total of 8,624,828 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,507,388 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.2 days. Currently, 6.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 6.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,507,388 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LZ. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of LegalZoom.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. William Blair upgraded LegalZoom.com from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Citigroup cut their target price on LegalZoom.com from $12.00 to $10.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 21st. Barclays upped their price target 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 restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.50.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 758,367 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 2.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,327,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,537,000 after purchasing an additional 90,599 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of LegalZoom.com by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,680,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,833,000 after purchasing an additional 194,080 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of LegalZoom.com by 60.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,170,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,528,000 after purchasing an additional 817,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of LegalZoom.com by 33.6% in the 3rd quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,126,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,071,000 after buying an additional 535,290 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

LegalZoom.com Stock Down 1.5%

LZ traded down $0.14 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $8.74. 112,344 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,881,758. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $9.75 and its 200 day moving average is $9.95. LegalZoom.com has a 12 month low of $6.47 and a 12 month high of $12.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a PE ratio of 72.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.22.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.03). LegalZoom.com had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 3.05%.The business had revenue of $190.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.27 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that LegalZoom.com will post 0.25 EPS for the current year.

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.