Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $230.11, but opened at $235.21. Sezzle shares last traded at $240.79, with a volume of 12,351 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and set a $377.00 price target (up previously from $372.00) on shares of Sezzle in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Northland Securities upped their price objective on shares of Sezzle from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th.

Sezzle Stock Up 2.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.27 and a beta of 9.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $257.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $254.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 2.40.

Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $4.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $1.31. Sezzle had a net margin of 25.29% and a return on equity of 101.18%. The company had revenue of $271.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.90 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sezzle Inc. will post 9.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sezzle announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sezzle news, CFO Karen Hartje sold 3,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.32, for a total transaction of $1,093,518.24. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 57.65% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sezzle

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sezzle by 191.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,474,000 after purchasing an additional 13,383 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Sezzle by 295.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $679,000 after buying an additional 2,974 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Sezzle by 125.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $771,000 after buying an additional 2,512 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Sezzle in the third quarter worth approximately $276,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Sezzle in the third quarter worth approximately $548,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.02% of the company’s stock.

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.