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

Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $428.46, but opened at $446.70. Sezzle shares last traded at $412.30, with a volume of 23,850 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SEZL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. B. Riley increased their target price on Sezzle from $132.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Northland Securities increased their price target on shares of Sezzle from $185.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

Sezzle Trading Down 2.3 %

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $247.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.86. The stock has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.86 and a beta of 8.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 2.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Justin Krause sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.00, for a total value of $207,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,533 shares in the company, valued at $2,281,554. This trade represents a 8.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Paul Martin Purcell sold 2,401 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.72, for a total transaction of $1,118,193.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,139,833. This represents a 3.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 89,190 shares of company stock worth $15,346,092 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 57.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sezzle

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SEZL. Covestor Ltd purchased a new stake in Sezzle in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in Sezzle by 129.2% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 1,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 815 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sezzle in the 3rd quarter valued at about $165,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Sezzle in the third quarter worth approximately $188,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in Sezzle in the third quarter valued at $274,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.