LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) Sets New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $6.01 and last traded at $5.9150, with a volume of 733933 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.28.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on LZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on LegalZoom.com from $14.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of LegalZoom.com from $12.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of LegalZoom.com from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $6.00 price target (down from $9.00) on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.42.

LegalZoom.com Trading Down 4.6%

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $7.45 and its 200-day moving average is $9.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 74.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.25.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.01). LegalZoom.com had a return on equity of 6.35% and a net margin of 2.04%.The company had revenue of $190.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $184.85 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that LegalZoom.com, Inc. will post 0.25 EPS for the current year.

LegalZoom.com declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LegalZoom.com news, insider Nicole Miller sold 23,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.63, for a total transaction of $154,644.75. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 813,033 shares in the company, valued at $5,390,408.79. This represents a 2.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Noel Bertram Watson sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.96, for a total value of $104,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,480,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,306,785.60. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LegalZoom.com

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LZ. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in LegalZoom.com in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of LegalZoom.com in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 58.5% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 3,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,441 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in LegalZoom.com by 477.3% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 4,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 3,766 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in LegalZoom.com by 976.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 4,140 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.