Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $204.12, but opened at $213.68. Sezzle shares last traded at $215.31, with a volume of 23,362 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on SEZL. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and issued a $377.00 price target (up from $372.00) on shares of Sezzle in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Northland Securities upped their price objective on shares of Sezzle from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th.

Sezzle Stock Up 4.5 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $262.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $251.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61 and a beta of 9.09. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

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

Sezzle announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sezzle 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 transaction of $1,093,518.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,109,474.72. This represents a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 57.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sezzle

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SEZL. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Sezzle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $548,000. Covestor Ltd bought a new stake in Sezzle during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Navellier & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Sezzle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,217,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sezzle by 191.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,474,000 after acquiring an additional 13,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sezzle by 129.2% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 1,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 815 shares in the last quarter. 2.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.