Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Buys 154,978 Shares of Sezzle Inc. $SEZL

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has significantly increased its stake in Sezzle Inc. by over 1,068% during the first quarter, owning 0.51% of the company, valued at approximately $5.9 million.
• Several other institutional investors, including Rhumbline Advisers and MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd., have also raised their positions in Sezzle, indicating growing confidence in the company.
• Sezzle reported earnings of $0.69 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, despite revenue falling short of estimates, highlighting mixed financial performance.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL - Free Report) by 1,068.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 169,487 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 154,978 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.51% of Sezzle worth $5,913,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SEZL. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Sezzle by 49,400.0% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 990 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 988 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in Sezzle by 465.6% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,578 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 1,299 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Sezzle by 1,852.5% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,382 shares of the company's stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 2,260 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Sezzle during the first quarter worth about $84,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its stake in shares of Sezzle by 500.0% during 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 2.02% of the company's stock.

Sezzle Stock Performance

Sezzle stock traded up $2.10 on Friday, reaching $91.60. 1,148,305 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 816,854. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $110.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.82. Sezzle Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.82 and a twelve month high of $186.74. 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 $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 31.39 and a beta of 9.02.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on SEZL. Wall Street Zen cut Sezzle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Sezzle in a report on Thursday, September 11th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. 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. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Sezzle in a report on Thursday, September 11th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, B. Riley upped their price objective on shares of Sezzle from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $113.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sezzle

In other news, CFO Karen Hartje sold 5,484 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 126,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,312,664.92. This represents a 4.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul Paradis sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.62, for a total transaction of $274,860.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 242,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,172,040. The trade was a 1.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,484 shares of company stock valued at $9,612,690 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 49.49% of the company's stock.

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.