Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL) Sees Large Volume Increase After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• TD Cowen upgraded Sezzle to “buy” from “hold” and set a $165 price target, prompting elevated trading activity; shares recently traded near $122.23.
• Sezzle beat quarterly expectations, reporting $1.13 in EPS versus the $1.03 consensus and revenue of $149.68 million versus $135.09 million expected.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $146.50, although insiders sold $13.5 million of stock over the last quarter.

Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday after TD Cowen upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. TD Cowen now has a $165.00 price target on the stock. Approximately 554,025 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 25% from the previous session's volume of 741,292 shares.The stock last traded at $122.2340 and had previously closed at $118.02.

SEZL has been the subject of several other reports. Freedom Capital upgraded Sezzle to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Sezzle from $190.00 to $155.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Sezzle from $166.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sezzle in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Sezzle in a report on Thursday, June 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sezzle has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $146.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Paul Paradis sold 26,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.47, for a total value of $3,523,608.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 442,595 shares in the company, valued at $59,073,154.65. The trade was a 5.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Justin Krause sold 3,178 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.72, for a total value of $374,114.16. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 72,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,529,638.04. This represents a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 86,928 shares of company stock valued at $13,510,889 in the last quarter. Insiders own 49.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sezzle

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Sezzle in the 2nd quarter worth about $436,497,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sezzle by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,188,883 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,464,000 after acquiring an additional 172,115 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sezzle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $57,955,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Sezzle by 59.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 600,656 shares of the company's stock worth $38,127,000 after acquiring an additional 223,052 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sezzle by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 489,382 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,068,000 after purchasing an additional 10,625 shares during the last quarter. 2.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sezzle Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a PE ratio of 26.57 and a beta of 6.76. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $157.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.56. The company has a quick ratio of 3.65, a current ratio of 4.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.10. Sezzle had a net margin of 30.35% and a return on equity of 83.48%. The company had revenue of $149.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $135.09 million. Sezzle has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.250-5.250 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Sezzle Inc. will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current year.

About Sezzle

Sezzle Inc is a financial technology company specializing in buy now, pay later (BNPL) services that enable consumers to split purchases into interest-free installment payments. By integrating its platform with e-commerce merchants, Sezzle provides shoppers with flexible payment options at checkout while merchants benefit from increased conversion rates and average order values. The company's technology is designed to offer a seamless user experience, with instant approval decisions and no hidden fees, positions it as a consumer-friendly alternative to traditional credit products.

Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Sezzle completed its initial public offering on the Nasdaq under the ticker SEZL.

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