Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL) Sets New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $175.47 and last traded at $178.95, with a volume of 136693 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $165.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on SEZL. Wall Street Zen lowered Sezzle from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Oppenheimer started coverage on Sezzle in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sezzle has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.94.

Sezzle Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 2.62 and a current ratio of 2.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.32 and a beta of 9.06. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $101.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.78.

Sezzle declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sezzle news, COO Amin Sabzivand sold 3,169 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.75, for a total transaction of $518,923.75. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 243,303 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,840,866.25. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Karen Hartje sold 311,196 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.83, for a total transaction of $22,353,208.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 154,266 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,080,926.78. This represents a 66.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 471,777 shares of company stock valued at $38,698,490 in the last three months. 49.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Sezzle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sezzle in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Sezzle by 49,400.0% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 990 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 988 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sezzle by 3,575.0% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 147 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Sezzle by 465.6% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,578 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 1,299 shares in the last quarter. 2.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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