Bank of America Begins Coverage on Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM)

Research analysts at Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) in a report issued on Thursday. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America‘s target price points to a potential upside of 58.61% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on AFRM. Mizuho cut their price target on Affirm from $114.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 9th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Affirm in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Affirm in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Affirm in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Affirm in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.36.

Affirm Price Performance

AFRM opened at $51.70 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $63.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.24. Affirm has a twelve month low of $30.90 and a twelve month high of $100.00. The company has a quick ratio of 11.41, a current ratio of 11.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The company has a market capitalization of $17.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.83, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 3.61.

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.09. Affirm had a net margin of 7.60% and a return on equity of 8.83%. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. Affirm’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Affirm will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Affirm

In related news, CEO Max R. Levchin sold 666,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.62, for a total value of $53,746,612.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert O’hare sold 36,401 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $2,912,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,368 shares in the company, valued at approximately $109,440. This represents a 96.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Affirm

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AFRM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Affirm in the 4th quarter worth $281,961,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Affirm by 294.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,333,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,706,000 after buying an additional 3,234,260 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Affirm by 11,042.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,161,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,004,000 after buying an additional 2,141,881 shares during the last quarter. Atreides Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Affirm by 543.3% in the second quarter. Atreides Management LP now owns 1,977,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,751,000 after buying an additional 1,670,429 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Affirm by 26.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,641,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $412,315,000 after buying an additional 1,187,665 shares during the period. 69.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Affirm

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.