Sezzle Inc. $SEZL Position Boosted by Cetera Investment Advisers

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers has significantly increased its ownership in Sezzle Inc. by 316.9%, now holding 6,570 shares valued at $229,000.
• Sezzle reported an EPS of $0.69 for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, but its revenue was below consensus estimates at $60.31 million.
• Several analysts have adjusted their price targets for Sezzle, with B. Riley raising theirs from $101 to $111 and Oppenheimer increasing theirs from $168 to $202.

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL - Free Report) by 316.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,570 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,994 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Sezzle were worth $229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its stake in shares of Sezzle by 500.0% in the 1st quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 3,000 shares of the company's stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in Sezzle by 937.0% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sezzle during the first quarter worth about $1,319,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sezzle during the first quarter worth about $1,016,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in shares of Sezzle during the first quarter worth about $679,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.02% of the company's stock.

Sezzle Price Performance

SEZL traded down $0.54 on Wednesday, reaching $92.70. The company had a trading volume of 773,806 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,347,534. The company has a fifty day moving average of $135.13 and a 200-day moving average of $89.18. The company has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.76 and a beta of 9.09. 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 one year low of $20.70 and a one year high of $186.74.

Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.11. The firm 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sezzle Inc. will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction, the chief financial officer 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Amin Sabzivand sold 18,000 shares of Sezzle stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.31, for a total transaction of $2,831,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 243,303 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,273,994.93. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 68,696 shares of company stock worth $10,476,922. Corporate insiders own 49.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SEZL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sezzle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Oppenheimer upped 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. Finally, B. Riley upped their target price 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Sezzle currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $124.33.

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.