Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL) shares gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $132.16, but opened at $120.86. Sezzle shares last traded at $117.50, with a volume of 759,917 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sezzle from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $62.83 price target (up previously from $62.00) on shares of Sezzle in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Sezzle Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.70. The company has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a PE ratio of 12.20 and a beta of 9.06. 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 declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Sezzle

In other Sezzle news, COO Amin Sabzivand sold 2,146 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.79, for a total transaction of $229,171.34. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 253,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,116,971.12. This represents a 0.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Paul Paradis sold 18,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 315,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,625,000. This trade represents a 5.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 441,396 shares of company stock worth $34,037,893. Company insiders own 49.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sezzle

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SEZL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sezzle by 497.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,013,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,368,000 after purchasing an additional 844,084 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sezzle by 497.8% in the first quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 327,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,419,000 after buying an additional 272,530 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sezzle by 719.1% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 173,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,040,000 after buying an additional 152,152 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sezzle by 1,068.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 169,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,913,000 after buying an additional 154,978 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Sezzle by 429.0% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 132,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,618,000 after acquiring an additional 107,340 shares during the last quarter. 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.