Short Interest in Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL) Increases By 49.6%

Sezzle Inc. (NASDAQ:SEZL) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 245,200 shares, an increase of 49.6% from the June 30th total of 163,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 106,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 8.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on SEZL shares. Northland Capmk upgraded Sezzle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. B. Riley initiated coverage on Sezzle in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $113.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Northland Securities initiated coverage on Sezzle in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $119.00 price objective on the stock.

Sezzle Price Performance

Sezzle stock traded down $3.46 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $81.77. 38,146 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 79,100. Sezzle has a 52-week low of $7.15 and a 52-week high of $100.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $82.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 2.06 and a current ratio of 2.06. The company has a market cap of $462.74 million and a P/E ratio of 35.86.

Sezzle (NASDAQ:SEZL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter. Sezzle had a return on equity of 62.26% and a net margin of 7.79%. The business had revenue of $46.98 million during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sezzle will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sezzle news, Director Paul Paradis sold 1,470 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.36, for a total value of $113,719.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 209,906 shares in the company, valued at $16,238,328.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Sezzle news, Director Paul Paradis sold 1,470 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.36, for a total value of $113,719.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 209,906 shares in the company, valued at $16,238,328.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul Martin Purcell sold 3,955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.19, for a total value of $325,061.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 460,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,869,946.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 76,961 shares of company stock worth $6,583,136. Corporate insiders own 57.65% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sezzle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new position in shares of Sezzle in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Sezzle in the 2nd quarter worth about $611,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sezzle in the 1st quarter worth about $13,369,000. 2.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.