LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) shares 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 trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LZ. Zacks Research cut shares of LegalZoom.com from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, January 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on LegalZoom.com from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research note on Monday, December 29th. William Blair raised LegalZoom.com from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on LegalZoom.com from $12.00 to $10.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.50.

LegalZoom.com Stock Up 2.0%

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $9.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 65.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.22.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $190.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.27 million. LegalZoom.com had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 3.05%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that LegalZoom.com, Inc. will post 0.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at LegalZoom.com

In other LegalZoom.com news, insider Nicole Miller sold 23,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.63, for a total transaction of $226,362.78. Following the completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $143,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,551,582 shares in the company, valued at $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. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners bought a new position in LegalZoom.com during the third quarter worth $20,686,000. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LegalZoom.com during the third quarter worth $18,106,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position in shares of LegalZoom.com by 180.5% in 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 last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of LegalZoom.com by 507.3% in the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,842,000 after buying an additional 922,829 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 60.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,170,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,528,000 after buying an additional 817,462 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

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.