Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL) Trading 6.8% Higher – Here’s Why

Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL)’s share price rose 6.8% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $231.99 and last traded at $232.38. Approximately 32,418 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 114,687 shares. The stock had previously closed at $217.65.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SEZL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Northland Securities increased their price objective 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 restated a “buy” rating and set a $377.00 price target (up from $372.00) on shares of Sezzle in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Sezzle Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $257.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $255.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 24.86 and a beta of 9.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $4.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $1.31. The business had revenue of $271.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.90 million. Sezzle had a return on equity of 101.18% and a net margin of 25.29%. Research analysts expect that Sezzle Inc. will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Sezzle announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Karen Hartje sold 3,457 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.32, for a total value of $1,093,518.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,109,474.72. This trade represents a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 57.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sezzle

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SEZL. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Sezzle by 1,406.4% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $659,000 after buying an additional 2,405 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new stake in Sezzle in the fourth quarter valued at $691,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sezzle in the fourth quarter valued at $2,762,000. Washington Harbour Partners LP acquired a new stake in Sezzle in the fourth quarter valued at $396,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new stake in Sezzle in the fourth quarter valued at $436,000. 2.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sezzle

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.