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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on LZ shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on LegalZoom.com from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company 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 reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $6.00 target price (down from $9.00) on shares of LegalZoom.com in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of LegalZoom.com from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of LegalZoom.com from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LegalZoom.com presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.25.

LegalZoom.com Trading Down 3.2%

The company has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 106.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $6.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.98.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $206.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $202.14 million. LegalZoom.com had a return on equity of 11.53% and a net margin of 1.46%.LegalZoom.com’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that LegalZoom.com, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

LegalZoom.com declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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. Also, CEO Jeffrey M. Stibel acquired 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $6.15 per share, with a total value of $768,750.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 2,955,609 shares in the company, valued at $18,176,995.35. The trade was a 4.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 57,524 shares of company stock worth $377,724. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of LegalZoom.com during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its holdings in LegalZoom.com by 58.5% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 3,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,441 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in LegalZoom.com by 477.3% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 4,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 3,766 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of LegalZoom.com by 976.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 4,140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of LegalZoom.com by 11,415.2% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 7,534 shares in the last quarter. 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.