Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL) Trading 8.4% Higher – Still a Buy?

Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL) shot up 8.4% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $56.38 and last traded at $56.52. 225,917 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 1,007,306 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SEZL shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sezzle in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. B. Riley lifted their price objective on shares of Sezzle from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Sezzle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Sezzle in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cowen started coverage on Sezzle in a report on Thursday, September 11th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.00.

Sezzle Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $74.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 3.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41 and a beta of 8.63.

Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $40.84 million during the quarter. Sezzle had a net margin of 27.66% and a return on equity of 90.06%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sezzle Inc. will post 9.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sezzle

In other news, CFO Karen Hartje sold 5,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total value of $466,140.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 116,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,864,505. This represents a 4.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kyle M. Brehm bought 1,217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $57.50 per share, with a total value of $69,977.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 24,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,387,417.50. This represents a 5.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 49.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sezzle

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SEZL. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP raised its position in Sezzle by 64.7% in the 3rd quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 1,494,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,867,000 after purchasing an additional 587,129 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sezzle by 4.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,016,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,864,000 after purchasing an additional 46,760 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sezzle by 1.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 439,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,842,000 after purchasing an additional 7,067 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in Sezzle in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $71,770,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in Sezzle by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 355,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,677,000 after buying an additional 19,706 shares during the last quarter. 2.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.