LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,560,000 shares, an increase of 26.7% from the November 15th total of 2,810,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,120,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days. Approximately 3.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research report on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group assumed coverage on LegalZoom.com in a research note on Friday, December 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $9.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $8.00 price objective on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of LegalZoom.com from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of LegalZoom.com from $7.00 to $8.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.79.

LegalZoom.com Stock Performance

NASDAQ LZ traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $8.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,174,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,544,276. The company’s 50-day moving average is $7.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.21. LegalZoom.com has a fifty-two week low of $5.33 and a fifty-two week high of $13.74. The stock has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a PE ratio of 62.08, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.02. LegalZoom.com had a net margin of 3.61% and a return on equity of 32.88%. The business had revenue of $168.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.66 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.05 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that LegalZoom.com will post 0.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LegalZoom.com

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of LegalZoom.com by 15.8% during the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 5,581,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,827,000 after buying an additional 762,612 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in LegalZoom.com by 4.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,067,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,310,000 after acquiring an additional 132,189 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in LegalZoom.com by 26.8% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,466,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,698,000 after acquiring an additional 521,200 shares during the period. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in LegalZoom.com by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 1,996,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,751,000 after acquiring an additional 184,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tabor Asset Management LP lifted its stake in shares of LegalZoom.com by 44.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tabor Asset Management LP now owns 1,522,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,669,000 after purchasing an additional 472,002 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

About LegalZoom.com

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.