Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Shares of Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL) gapped down prior to trading 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Sezzle Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $946.56 million, a P/E ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 8.70. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.22. Sezzle had a return on equity of 101.18% and a net margin of 25.29%. The business had revenue of $271.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.90 million. On average, analysts expect that Sezzle Inc. will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Sezzle announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Karen Hartje sold 20,742 shares of Sezzle stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 210,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,109,474.72. The trade was a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 57.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sezzle

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. G2 Investment Partners Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Sezzle by 275.9% in the fourth quarter. G2 Investment Partners Management LLC now owns 102,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,141,000 after purchasing an additional 75,007 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Sezzle by 792.3% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 79,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,460,000 after buying an additional 71,019 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Sezzle by 912.8% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 21,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,397,000 after acquiring an additional 19,014 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Sezzle by 172.7% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 27,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,008,000 after acquiring an additional 17,351 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in Sezzle by 816.9% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 15,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,018,000 after acquiring an additional 13,994 shares in the last quarter. 2.02% of the stock is currently owned by 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.