What Happened?
A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after reports revealed easing geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
The broader market rallied after President Trump announced that talks were underway to end hostilities and that he had postponed strikes against Iranian energy sites. The news sent major indices like the S&P 500 and Dow sharply higher, creating a 'risk-on' environment favorable to financial firms. For the asset management sector, which is closely tied to the performance of financial markets, the rally is a welcome tailwind. Rising equity values increase the value of assets under management (AUM), a key performance metric for these companies. The de-escalation also caused energy prices to tumble, with Brent crude oil falling more than 7%.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.
Among others, the following stocks were impacted:
- Investment Banking & Brokerage company Jefferies (NYSE: JEF) jumped 4.7%. Is now the time to buy Jefferies? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Personal Loan company Sezzle (NASDAQ: SEZL) jumped 10.2%. Is now the time to buy Sezzle? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Payment Processing company Shift4 (NYSE: FOUR) jumped 5.8%. Is now the time to buy Shift4? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Personal Loan company LendingClub (NYSE: LC) jumped 5.7%. Is now the time to buy LendingClub? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Custody Bank company Invesco (NYSE: IVZ) jumped 3.8%. Is now the time to buy Invesco? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On Sezzle (SEZL)
Sezzle’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 62 moves greater than 5% over the last year. But moves this big are rare even for Sezzle and indicate this news significantly impacted the market’s perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 11 days ago when the stock dropped 4.8% on the news that investors raised concerns over the stability of the private credit market, following a key announcement from a major bank.
JPMorgan Chase announced it would be restricting lending to private credit providers. This decision came after the bank marked down the value of several loans in its portfolio, signaling potential stress in this rapidly growing corner of the finance world. The move sparked broader industry jitters, leading to a rush for liquidity. In response to these pressures, several large industry names were forced to limit redemptions for their key funds, adding further downward pressure on financial sector shares as investors weighed the potential for wider contagion.
Sezzle is up 11.7% since the beginning of the year, but at $72.81 per share, it is still trading 60% 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 $5,387.
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