Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) Research Coverage Started at Scotiabank

Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a sector outperform rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Affirm from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Compass Point set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Affirm in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Affirm from $93.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Affirm from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Affirm from $88.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.12.

Affirm Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of AFRM stock opened at $72.35 on Wednesday. Affirm has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $93.20. The company has a quick ratio of 11.80, a current ratio of 11.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The firm has a market cap of $24.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 3.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $77.19 and a 200-day moving average of $65.24.

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 27th. The company reported $4.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $4.27. Affirm had a net margin of 45.29% and a return on equity of 47.91%. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.20 earnings per share. Affirm’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Affirm will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Affirm

In other news, COO Michael Linford sold 79,219 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $7,130,502.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 120,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,865,377.13. This represents a 39.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Katherine Adkins sold 41,664 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.53, for a total transaction of $3,146,881.92. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 152,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,513,717.67. The trade was a 21.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 262,547 shares of company stock worth $21,220,779 in the last three months. Insiders own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Affirm by 83.4% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 48,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,610,000 after buying an additional 22,054 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Affirm by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,501,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,433,000 after buying an additional 329,312 shares in the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Affirm in the first quarter valued at $935,000. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Affirm by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 605,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,069,000 after acquiring an additional 122,584 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Affirm by 11.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,574,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,100,000 after acquiring an additional 166,252 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.29% of the company’s stock.

More Affirm News

Here are the key news stories impacting Affirm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains strong: Mizuho Securities initiated or reiterated a Buy rating for Affirm, while Truist raised its price target from $83 to $85 and maintained a Buy rating. Scotiabank also began coverage with a Sector Outperform recommendation. These actions reinforce the bullish view that Affirm can continue expanding its payments and lending business. Affirm Receives a Buy from Mizuho Securities Scotiabank Initiates Coverage of Affirm
• Positive Sentiment: Demand may be benefiting from consumer pressure: Inflation and elevated gas costs are encouraging consumers to use installment-payment products, potentially supporting transaction volume and revenue growth. Affirm’s disciplined underwriting is viewed as a way to limit rising credit risk. Consumer Pressure Rises, but Demand for Affirm’s Services Also Rises
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent fundamentals provide support: Affirm’s latest quarterly revenue increased 33.1% year over year, and reported EPS substantially exceeded consensus estimates, although revenue was below expectations. Analysts overall maintain a Moderate Buy consensus, with an average price target of $99.12.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling is a near-term overhang: COO and director-level insider sales totaling roughly $10 million were reported, including Katherine Adkins’ sale of 41,664 shares. The transactions were conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, which reduces their value as a signal of current management sentiment but may still pressure the stock.

Affirm Company Profile

Affirm Holdings, Inc is a financial technology company that provides point-of-sale consumer lending and payments solutions for online and in-store purchases. Its core product is a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) platform that enables consumers to split purchases into fixed, transparent installment loans with no hidden fees. Affirm offers a range of financing options through merchant integrations, a consumer-facing mobile app and virtual card capabilities, and tools for merchants to offer alternative payment methods at checkout.