Oppenheimer Initiates Coverage on Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL)

Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL - Free Report) in a research note published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $168.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on SEZL. Wall Street Zen lowered Sezzle from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $62.83 target price (up previously from $62.00) on shares of Sezzle in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $96.94.

Sezzle Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SEZL traded down $6.56 during trading on Thursday, reaching $133.54. 1,389,907 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 822,303. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 2.40. Sezzle has a 52-week low of $11.67 and a 52-week high of $141.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21 and a beta of 9.06. The company has a 50-day moving average of $79.22 and a 200-day moving average of $56.47.

Sezzle declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sezzle

In other news, COO Amin Sabzivand sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.86, for a total transaction of $736,740.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 277,074 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,681,277.64. This represents a 3.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Karen Hartje sold 311,196 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.83, for a total value of $22,353,208.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 154,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,080,926.78. The trade was a 66.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 443,080 shares of company stock worth $34,247,838 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 49.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sezzle

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Sezzle during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sezzle during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sezzle by 3,575.0% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 147 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sezzle during the 4th quarter worth about $84,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Sezzle by 94.7% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 407 shares of the company's stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. 2.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.