LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $8.88, but opened at $9.37. LegalZoom.com shares last traded at $9.2850, with a volume of 1,544,825 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on LZ shares. Wall Street Zen lowered LegalZoom.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of LegalZoom.com from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Zacks Research lowered shares of LegalZoom.com from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, January 19th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of LegalZoom.com from $12.00 to $10.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Finally, William Blair upgraded LegalZoom.com from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, LegalZoom.com has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.50.

LegalZoom.com Stock Up 4.6%

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $9.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.22.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.03). LegalZoom.com had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 3.05%.The firm had revenue of $190.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $183.27 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that LegalZoom.com, Inc. will post 0.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Noel Bertram Watson sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.56, for a total value of $143,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,551,582 shares in the company, valued at $14,833,123.92. This represents a 0.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Nicole Miller sold 23,506 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.63, for a total transaction of $226,362.78. Following the transaction, the insider owned 868,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,364,878.01. This represents a 2.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 5.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LegalZoom.com

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LZ. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in LegalZoom.com during the third quarter worth $34,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of LegalZoom.com during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted 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 valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 1,441 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted 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 worth $41,000 after buying an additional 3,766 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of LegalZoom.com by 976.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 4,140 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.