Barclays Reaffirms Underweight Rating for LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ)

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ)‘s stock had its “underweight” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Barclays in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $6.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $9.00. Barclays‘s price target points to a potential downside of 11.50% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on LZ. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on LegalZoom.com from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of LegalZoom.com from $12.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of LegalZoom.com from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of LegalZoom.com from $12.00 to $10.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of LegalZoom.com from $14.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.42.

LegalZoom.com Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of LegalZoom.com stock opened at $6.78 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $8.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.56. LegalZoom.com has a 12-month low of $6.14 and a 12-month high of $12.40. The stock has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 84.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.25.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.01). LegalZoom.com had a return on equity of 6.35% and a net margin of 2.04%.The firm had revenue of $190.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.85 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.19 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that LegalZoom.com will post 0.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LegalZoom.com declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 19th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LegalZoom.com in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in LegalZoom.com in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,441 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in LegalZoom.com by 477.3% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 4,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 3,766 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of LegalZoom.com by 976.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 4,140 shares during the last quarter. 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.