Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL) Stock Price Up 12.6% Following Earnings Beat

Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL)’s stock price rose 12.6% during trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $342.61 and last traded at $328.16. Approximately 126,117 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 13% from the average daily volume of 145,707 shares. The stock had previously closed at $291.44.

The company reported $4.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $1.31. Sezzle had a return on equity of 101.18% and a net margin of 25.29%. The business had revenue of $271.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.90 million.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SEZL has been the topic of a number of research reports. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $377.00 price objective (up previously from $372.00) on shares of Sezzle in a research note on Wednesday. Northland Securities lifted their price objective on Sezzle from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.

Insider Transactions at Sezzle

In other news, CFO Karen Hartje sold 3,457 shares of Sezzle stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.32, for a total value of $1,093,518.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 35,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,109,474.72. The trade was a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kyle M. Brehm bought 110 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $360.00 per share, with a total value of $39,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,338,480. This trade represents a 3.05 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 57.65% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sezzle

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Sezzle during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Sezzle during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in 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. Covestor Ltd purchased a new position in Sezzle during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sezzle during the 4th quarter valued at $80,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.02% of the company’s stock.

Sezzle Trading Up 5.1 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $263.31 and a 200-day moving average of $242.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a current ratio of 2.40. The company has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 32.58 and a beta of 9.58.

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.