Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $147.50 and last traded at $144.76, with a volume of 520289 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $133.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SEZL. Wall Street Zen cut Sezzle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and set a $62.83 price objective (up previously from $62.00) on shares of Sezzle in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Sezzle in a research report on Thursday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $168.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sezzle currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $96.94.

Sezzle Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $79.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.38. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58 and a beta of 9.06.

Sezzle announced that its board has initiated a share 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 buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Amin Sabzivand sold 1,684 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.67, for a total transaction of $209,944.28. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 244,074 shares in the company, valued at $30,428,705.58. This represents a 0.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Karen Hartje sold 311,196 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.83, for a total transaction of $22,353,208.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 154,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,080,926.78. This represents a 66.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 443,080 shares of company stock worth $34,247,838. Corporate insiders own 49.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sezzle

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Sezzle in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sezzle in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sezzle by 3,575.0% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 147 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sezzle during the 4th quarter worth about $84,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Sezzle by 94.7% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. 2.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.