LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Shares of LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $6.95, but opened at $6.46. LegalZoom.com shares last traded at $6.68, with a volume of 493,576 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on LZ shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of LegalZoom.com from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $6.00 price target (down from $9.00) on shares of LegalZoom.com in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on LegalZoom.com from $12.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on LegalZoom.com from $12.00 to $10.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.42.

LegalZoom.com Price Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $8.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 82.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.25.

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

LegalZoom.com announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, February 19th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Noel Bertram Watson sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.96, for a total value of $104,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,480,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,306,785.60. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Nicole Miller sold 23,325 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 813,033 shares in the company, valued at $5,390,408.79. The trade was a 2.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 5.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LegalZoom.com

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in LegalZoom.com during the fourth quarter valued at $185,000. Amundi acquired a new stake in shares of LegalZoom.com during the 1st quarter valued at about $196,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of LegalZoom.com by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 74,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $646,000 after purchasing an additional 2,161 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in LegalZoom.com by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,313,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,309,000 after purchasing an additional 113,769 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in LegalZoom.com by 1.7% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 275,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,376,000 after purchasing an additional 4,607 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.