Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $32.34, but opened at $28.56. Sezzle shares last traded at $27.58, with a volume of 180,454 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on SEZL. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $62.83 price objective (up from $62.00) on shares of Sezzle in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Northland Securities boosted their price target on Sezzle from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th.

Sezzle Stock Down 11.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The company has a market capitalization of $971.61 million, a P/E ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 8.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $42.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.64.

Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $271.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $73.90 million. Sezzle had a net margin of 25.29% and a return on equity of 101.18%. Equities research analysts forecast that Sezzle Inc. will post 9.77 EPS for the current year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Karen Hartje sold 20,742 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.72, for a total value of $1,093,518.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 210,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,109,474.72. This trade represents a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 57.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sezzle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SEZL. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Sezzle during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Sezzle during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Sezzle by 3,575.0% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 147 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sezzle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $80,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Sezzle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $84,000. 2.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.