Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL) Trading 6.8% Higher – Still a Buy?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on SEZL. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $377.00 price target (up previously from $372.00) on shares of Sezzle in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Northland Securities boosted their price target on Sezzle from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th.

Sezzle Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a current ratio of 2.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $257.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $254.75. The stock has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.10 and a beta of 9.05.

Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL) last issued its 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. Sezzle had a return on equity of 101.18% and a net margin of 25.29%. The company had revenue of $271.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.90 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sezzle Inc. will post 9.77 EPS for the current year.

Sezzle declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Sezzle

In related news, CFO Karen Hartje sold 3,457 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,121 shares in the company, valued at $11,109,474.72. The trade was a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 57.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sezzle

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Sezzle by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Sezzle by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 2,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $654,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Sezzle during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sezzle during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in shares of Sezzle by 3,575.0% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during 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.