Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL) Short Interest Down 17.3% in May

Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,770,000 shares, a decrease of 17.3% from the April 30th total of 3,350,000 shares. Approximately 16.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,100,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SEZL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Sezzle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and issued a $62.83 price objective (up from $62.00) on shares of Sezzle in a report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Sezzle Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:SEZL traded up $1.70 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $114.22. 50,300 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 794,033. The firm has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.15 and a beta of 8.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a current ratio of 2.40. Sezzle has a 52-week low of $11.50 and a 52-week high of $115.84. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.83.

Sezzle announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sezzle news, Director Paul Paradis sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $1,350,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 315,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,625,000. This represents a 5.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Karen Hartje sold 311,196 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.83, for a total value of $22,353,208.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 154,266 shares in the company, valued at $11,080,926.78. This trade represents a 66.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 441,396 shares of company stock valued at $34,037,893 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 49.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sezzle

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Sezzle by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,613,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of Sezzle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $311,000. Calamos Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sezzle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,423,000. Swiss National Bank bought a new stake in shares of Sezzle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,407,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Sezzle by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 668 shares during the last quarter. 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.