What Happened?
Shares of buy-now-pay-later service Sezzle (NASDAQCM:SEZL) jumped 4.8% in the morning session after it was announced the company would be added to the S&P SmallCap 600 index. The disclosure came from S&P Dow Jones Indices, which confirmed that Sezzle was set to replace Vital Energy Inc. in the index. The change was scheduled to be effective before the opening of trading on December 15. Being added to a major index is often viewed positively by investors. This is because index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track the S&P SmallCap 600 were then required to purchase Sezzle's shares to match the index's holdings. This activity often created additional buying pressure and demand for the stock.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $70.59, up 3.9% from previous close.
Is now the time to buy Sezzle? Access our full analysis report here.
What Is The Market Telling Us
Sezzle’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 76 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 6 days ago when the stock gained 6.4% on the news that positive reports for the "Buy Now, Pay Later" (BNPL) industry pointed to a strong holiday shopping season. This optimism stemmed from an Adobe Analytics forecast that projected spending using BNPL services would reach $20.2 billion during the holidays, an 11 percent increase from the previous year. "Buy Now, Pay Later" plans allow consumers to make purchases and pay for them over time. The payment method continued to gain popularity, especially among younger shoppers, signaling a healthy and expanding market for companies operating in the sector.
Sezzle is up 55.3% since the beginning of the year, but at $70.59 per share, it is still trading 61.3% below its 52-week high of $182.16 from July 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Sezzle’s shares at the IPO in August 2023 would now be looking at an investment worth $5,223.
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