Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 201,700 shares, an increase of 26.3% from the December 15th total of 159,700 shares. Currently, 6.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 124,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Insider Activity at Sezzle

In other news, Director Paul Martin Purcell sold 1,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.26, for a total transaction of $481,612.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 81,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,663,684.96. The trade was a 1.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kyle M. Brehm bought 106 shares of Sezzle stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $402.00 per share, with a total value of $42,612.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,450,416. This trade represents a 3.03 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,707 shares of company stock worth $3,210,207 in the last 90 days. 57.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sezzle

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SEZL. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sezzle in the 4th quarter valued at $80,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Sezzle by 295.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $679,000 after buying an additional 2,974 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Sezzle in the third quarter valued at about $548,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Sezzle during the third quarter worth approximately $188,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Sezzle in the third quarter valued at approximately $276,000. 2.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sezzle Price Performance

Shares of SEZL traded down $11.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $251.04. The company had a trading volume of 51,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 134,183. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 2.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.67 and a beta of 9.72. Sezzle has a twelve month low of $25.05 and a twelve month high of $477.52. The company’s 50-day moving average is $327.29 and its 200-day moving average is $204.76.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Northland Securities raised their target price on Sezzle from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $372.00 price objective (up from $353.00) on shares of Sezzle in a report on Thursday, December 19th.

Sezzle Company Profile

Sezzle Inc operates as a technology-enabled payments company primarily in the United States and Canada. The company provides payment solution in-store and at online retail stores; and through proprietary payments solution that connects consumers with merchants. It also offers Sezzle Platform that provides a payments solution for consumers that extends credit at the point-of-sale allowing consumers to purchase and receive the ordered merchandise at the time of sale while paying in installments over time; Pay-in-Four, which allows consumers to pay a fourth of the purchase price up front and then another fourth of the purchase price every two weeks thereafter over a total of six weeks; Pay-in-Full that allows consumers to pay for the full value of their order up-front through the Sezzle Platform without the extension of credit; and Pay-in-Two and other alternative installment options, which allow consumer to pay half of the value of their order up-front and the second half in two weeks.