AlphaQuest LLC Invests $1.27 Million in Sezzle Inc. $SEZL

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC acquired 36,474 shares of Sezzle Inc. valued at approximately $1.27 million, signaling continued interest from institutional investors in the company's stock.
• Vanguard Group increased its holdings in Sezzle by an impressive 497.6%, now owning over 1 million shares, highlighting the increasing confidence from major funds.
• Despite some analyst upgrades, including a price target increase from B. Riley, Sezzle's stock rating was downgraded to a "hold" by Wall Street Zen, indicating mixed sentiments among analysts.

AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 36,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,273,000. AlphaQuest LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Sezzle as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Sezzle by 94.7% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 407 shares of the company's stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in shares of Sezzle in the 4th quarter worth $136,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Sezzle by 49,400.0% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 990 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 988 shares in the last quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. purchased a new position in shares of Sezzle in the 4th quarter worth $262,000. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Sezzle in the 4th quarter worth $287,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.02% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Sezzle

In other Sezzle news, CFO Karen Hartje sold 5,484 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 126,846 shares in the company, valued at $21,312,664.92. This represents a 4.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paul Paradis sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.03, for a total transaction of $546,090.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 260,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,327,800. The trade was a 1.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 68,696 shares of company stock worth $10,476,922. Insiders own 49.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on SEZL. 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 note on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sezzle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Sezzle from $168.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $124.33.

Sezzle Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ SEZL traded down $1.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $94.07. The company had a trading volume of 676,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,049,272. The business's 50-day moving average is $134.19 and its 200-day moving average is $89.52. The company has a current ratio of 3.51, a quick ratio of 3.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.23 and a beta of 9.09. Sezzle Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.74 and a 52 week high of $186.74.

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

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.