Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $230.11, but opened at $235.21. Sezzle shares last traded at $240.79, with a volume of 12,351 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on SEZL. Northland Securities raised their price target on shares of Sezzle from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and set a $377.00 target price (up previously from $372.00) on shares of Sezzle in a report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Sezzle Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40 and a beta of 9.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a current ratio of 2.40. The firm's 50 day moving average is $257.31 and its 200-day moving average is $257.18.

Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $4.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.08 by $1.31. Sezzle had a net margin of 25.29% and a return on equity of 101.18%. The business had revenue of $271.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.90 million. Analysts forecast that Sezzle Inc. will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Sezzle declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Karen Hartje sold 3,457 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.32, for a total transaction of $1,093,518.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 35,121 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,109,474.72. This represents a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 57.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Sezzle by 1,406.4% during the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,576 shares of the company's stock worth $659,000 after buying an additional 2,405 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new position in Sezzle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $691,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Sezzle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,762,000. Washington Harbour Partners LP acquired a new stake in Sezzle during the fourth quarter worth $396,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new stake in Sezzle in the fourth quarter valued at $436,000. 2.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.