Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ)

LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors bought 2,855 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 163% compared to the average volume of 1,084 put options.

LegalZoom.com Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of LZ stock opened at $12.05 on Tuesday. LegalZoom.com has a twelve month low of $7.78 and a twelve month high of $15.68. The stock has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 150.63, a PEG ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s fifty day moving average is $12.74 and its 200 day moving average is $11.50.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.02. LegalZoom.com had a net margin of 2.11% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The company had revenue of $158.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.25 million. Equities research analysts expect that LegalZoom.com will post 0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on LegalZoom.com from $17.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $14.00 price objective on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Raymond James initiated coverage on LegalZoom.com in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on LegalZoom.com from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LegalZoom.com currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.36.

Insider Activity at LegalZoom.com

In other LegalZoom.com news, EVP Nicole Miller sold 16,536 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.64, for a total transaction of $175,943.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 233,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,481,226.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director John Francis Murphy sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.47, for a total transaction of $124,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $505,122.29. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicole Miller sold 16,536 shares of LegalZoom.com stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.64, for a total transaction of $175,943.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 233,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,481,226.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 60,555 shares of company stock worth $664,688 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 44.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LegalZoom.com

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in shares of LegalZoom.com in the third quarter worth $31,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of LegalZoom.com by 116.4% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 2,002 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. purchased a new position in shares of LegalZoom.com during the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new position in LegalZoom.com during the first quarter valued at approximately $135,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in LegalZoom.com by 686.8% in the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 10,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,000 after purchasing an additional 9,258 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LegalZoom.com Company Profile

LegalZoom.com, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates an online platform that supports the legal, compliance, and business management needs of small businesses and consumers in the United States. The company's platform offers business formation products, such as limited liability company, incorporation of C and S corporations, nonprofit formations, doing-business-as, corporate changes and filings, business licenses, legal forms, and beneficial ownership information reports; intellectual property products consisting of trademark and patent applications, and copyright registrations; and tax services, including business and personal tax preparations.