Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL) Rating Lowered to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

Separately, B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and issued a $62.83 price target (up from $62.00) on shares of Sezzle in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th.

Sezzle Trading Up 3.0%

Sezzle stock traded up $2.93 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $102.04. 367,656 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 781,189. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.83 and a beta of 8.41. The company has a quick ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $51.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.91. Sezzle has a fifty-two week low of $10.76 and a fifty-two week high of $104.10.

Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.22. Sezzle had a net margin of 25.29% and a return on equity of 101.18%. The firm had revenue of $271.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.90 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sezzle will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Sezzle declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sezzle

In other Sezzle news, Director Paul Paradis sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.53, for a total value of $4,526,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 528,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,834,422.46. The trade was a 8.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Karen Hartje sold 311,196 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.83, for a total value of $22,353,208.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 154,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,080,926.78. This trade represents a 66.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 426,396 shares of company stock valued at $32,422,491 in the last three months. 49.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sezzle

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Sezzle by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,320 shares of the company's stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Sezzle by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 2,556 shares of the company's stock worth $654,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Sezzle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sezzle in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sezzle by 3,575.0% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 147 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.02% of the company's stock.

About Sezzle

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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