Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Sezzle Inc. has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by analysts, with two hold and three buy recommendations leading to an average 1-year price target of $113.75.
• Insider trading activity has been notable, with CFO Karen Hartje selling 5,484 shares and COO Amin Sabzivand selling 18,000 shares, together representing significant decreases in their positions.
• Institutional investors have increased their stake in Sezzle, with Vanguard Group raising its holdings by 497.6% in the recent quarter, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.

Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $113.75.

SEZL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Sezzle in a research note on Thursday. They issued a "hold" rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Cowen assumed coverage on Sezzle in a research note on Thursday. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Sezzle from $168.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. B. Riley raised their price objective on Sezzle from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Sezzle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sezzle news, CFO Karen Hartje sold 5,484 shares of Sezzle stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.02, for a total value of $921,421.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 126,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,312,664.92. The trade was a 4.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Amin Sabzivand sold 18,000 shares of Sezzle stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.31, for a total value of $2,831,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 243,303 shares in the company, valued at $38,273,994.93. This represents a 6.89% 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 over the last quarter. 49.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sezzle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Sezzle by 497.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,013,698 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,368,000 after buying an additional 844,084 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Sezzle by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 439,799 shares of the company's stock valued at $78,842,000 after buying an additional 7,067 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Sezzle in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $71,770,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Sezzle by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 355,242 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,677,000 after buying an additional 19,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Sezzle by 497.8% in the 1st quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 327,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,419,000 after buying an additional 272,530 shares in the last quarter. 2.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sezzle Price Performance

Shares of SEZL stock traded up $0.81 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $90.08. The company had a trading volume of 515,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 867,220. 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 has a fifty day moving average of $115.71 and a 200-day moving average of $93.25. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.87 and a beta of 9.04. Sezzle has a 12-month low of $23.41 and a 12-month high of $186.74.

Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $60.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.33 million. Sezzle had a return on equity of 102.90% and a net margin of 28.13%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sezzle 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.

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