Acadian Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Position in 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 boosted its position in shares of Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL - Free Report) by 719.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure 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 0.52% of Sezzle worth $6,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Sezzle by 518.0% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 38,960 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 32,656 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of Sezzle during the fourth quarter valued at $311,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in shares of Sezzle by 937.0% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 15,420 shares of the company's stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 13,933 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sezzle during the 1st quarter worth about $747,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Sezzle by 485.5% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 8,466 shares of the company's stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 7,020 shares in the last quarter. 2.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SEZL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Sezzle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Sezzle from $168.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Sezzle in a research report on Thursday. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. B. Riley lifted their price objective on shares of Sezzle from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Sezzle in a research report on Thursday. They issued a "hold" rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $113.75.

Sezzle Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of SEZL traded up $0.81 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $90.08. 515,967 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 867,220. The company has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.87 and a beta of 9.04. Sezzle Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.41 and a fifty-two week high of $186.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 3.51 and a current ratio of 3.51. The stock's 50-day moving average is $115.71 and its 200-day moving average is $93.25.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Sezzle

In related news, COO Amin Sabzivand sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.31, for a total value of $2,831,580.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 243,303 shares in the company, valued at $38,273,994.93. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Karen Hartje sold 5,484 shares of Sezzle stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.02, for a total value 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 represents a 4.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 65,484 shares of company stock valued at $10,050,690 in the last 90 days. 49.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.