Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Key Points

• Sezzle's stock price fell significantly, opening at $103.51 after previously closing at $139.33, with shares last trading at $96.71.
• The company received a downgrade from Wall Street Zen, lowering its rating from "strong-buy" to "buy," while Oppenheimer raised its target price from $168.00 to $202.00.
• Institutional investors have shown increased activity, with several firms greatly expanding their stakes in Sezzle during recent quarters, including Bank of New York Mellon Corp growing its position by 518%.

Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $139.33, but opened at $103.51. Sezzle shares last traded at $96.71, with a volume of 2,074,425 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SEZL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sezzle from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Sezzle from $168.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd.

Sezzle Stock Down 33.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 2.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.42 and a beta of 9.09. The firm's fifty day moving average is $145.01 and its 200-day moving average is $83.48.

Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $60.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.33 million. Sezzle had a net margin of 32.42% and a return on equity of 114.37%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sezzle Inc. will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 126,846 shares in the company, valued at $21,312,664.92. The trade was a 4.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Amin Sabzivand sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.31, for a total value of $2,831,580.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 243,303 shares in the company, valued at $38,273,994.93. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 165,896 shares of company stock valued at $19,535,377 in the last quarter. Insiders own 49.49% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sezzle

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Sezzle by 518.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 38,960 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 32,656 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Sezzle during the fourth quarter valued at about $311,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Sezzle during the first quarter worth about $747,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in Sezzle by 937.0% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 15,420 shares of the company's stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 13,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Sezzle by 649.1% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 19,146 shares of the company's stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 16,590 shares in the last quarter. 2.02% of the stock is owned by 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.

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