Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL) Trading Down 4% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Sezzle Inc.'s stock price dropped by 4% on Wednesday, closing at $76.85, down from a previous close of $80.01, with a trading volume decline of 86% compared to the average session.
• Recent analyst ratings show a consensus of "Moderate Buy" for Sezzle, with three analysts rating it as a buy and three as hold, while firms like B. Riley and Oppenheimer raised their price targets significantly.
• Insider trading activity included CFO Karen Hartje selling 5,484 shares for $466,140, resulting in a 4.51% decrease in her ownership share, as insiders collectively sold 17,484 shares valued at nearly $1.85 million over the last quarter.

Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 4% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $75.31 and last traded at $76.85. 143,464 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 1,016,120 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.01.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SEZL. Wall Street Zen downgraded Sezzle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sezzle in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. B. Riley raised their price target on Sezzle from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Sezzle from $168.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Sezzle in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. They set a "hold" rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $113.75.

Sezzle Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 3.51 and a quick ratio of 3.51. The firm has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.74 and a beta of 8.70. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.44.

Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Sezzle had a net margin of 28.13% and a return on equity of 102.90%. The company had revenue of $40.84 million during the quarter. On average, analysts expect that Sezzle Inc. will post 9.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Sezzle

In related news, CFO Karen Hartje sold 5,484 shares of Sezzle stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $466,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 116,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,864,505. This trade represents a 4.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul Paradis sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.62, for a total value of $274,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 242,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,172,040. This trade represents a 1.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,484 shares of company stock valued at $1,853,220. 49.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sezzle

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Sezzle during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Sezzle in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sezzle in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. CWM LLC lifted 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 valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sezzle in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. 2.02% of the stock is currently 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.

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