Acadian Asset Management LLC Buys 152,152 Shares of Sezzle Inc. $SEZL

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Sezzle Inc. by 719.1%, acquiring 152,152 shares during the first quarter, resulting in total holdings of approximately 0.52% of the company worth around $6,040,000.
• Major institutional investors like Vanguard and Goldman Sachs also expanded their positions in Sezzle, with Vanguard increasing by 497.6% and Goldman Sachs by 1,068.2% in the same quarter.
• Sezzle recently reported earnings of $0.69 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, despite experiencing lower revenues of $60.31 million against predictions of $93.33 million.

Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL - Free Report) by 719.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 173,310 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 152,152 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned about 0.52% of Sezzle worth $6,040,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SEZL. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Sezzle during the 4th quarter valued at $311,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Sezzle by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 20,708 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,297,000 after buying an additional 1,319 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Sezzle by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,002 shares of the company's stock valued at $512,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in shares of Sezzle in the 4th quarter worth about $136,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Sezzle by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,377 shares of the company's stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.02% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sezzle

In other Sezzle news, CFO Karen Hartje sold 5,484 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.02, for a total transaction of $921,421.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 126,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,312,664.92. This trade represents a 4.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul Paradis sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.62, for a total transaction of $274,860.00. Following the sale, the director owned 242,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,172,040. This represents a 1.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 62,484 shares of company stock worth $9,612,690. 49.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on SEZL. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Sezzle in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sezzle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Sezzle from $168.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. B. Riley raised their target price 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. Finally, Cowen started coverage on shares of Sezzle in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $113.75.

Sezzle Stock Up 1.1%

NASDAQ:SEZL traded up $1.00 on Thursday, reaching $89.50. 813,679 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 799,822. The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.67 and a beta of 9.02. The company has a current ratio of 3.51, a quick ratio of 3.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Sezzle Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.82 and a 12 month high of $186.74. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $111.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.49.

Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $60.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.33 million. Sezzle had a net margin of 28.13% and a return on equity of 102.90%. Equities analysts predict that Sezzle Inc. will post 9.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sezzle 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.