Jeffrey Stibel Purchases 125,000 Shares of LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) Stock

LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) CEO Jeffrey Stibel bought 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $6.15 per share, for a total transaction of $768,750.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,955,609 shares in the company, valued at $18,176,995.35. This trade represents a 4.42% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

LegalZoom.com Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ LZ traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $6.10. 3,050,937 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,583,398. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 101.68, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.33. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $6.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.16. LegalZoom.com, Inc. has a 52 week low of $5.28 and a 52 week high of $12.40.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). LegalZoom.com had a net margin of 1.46% and a return on equity of 11.53%. The firm had revenue of $206.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $202.14 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.13 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that LegalZoom.com, Inc. will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

LegalZoom.com announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 19th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of LegalZoom.com during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of LegalZoom.com by 58.5% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 3,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,441 shares during 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 period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of LegalZoom.com by 976.4% in 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 period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in LegalZoom.com by 8,589.8% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 5,068 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on LZ. Zacks Research raised LegalZoom.com from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective (down from $9.00) on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of LegalZoom.com from $14.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings downgraded LegalZoom.com from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on LegalZoom.com from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.25.

LegalZoom.com Company Profile

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.