Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on AFRM. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Affirm in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Affirm from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Affirm from $100.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Affirm from $114.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, UBS Group set a $78.00 target price on shares of Affirm in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Affirm currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.60.

Affirm Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AFRM opened at $66.58 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $50.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.76. The company has a current ratio of 11.41, a quick ratio of 11.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The company has a market cap of $22.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 3.63. Affirm has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $100.00.

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. Affirm had a net margin of 7.60% and a return on equity of 8.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Affirm will post 1.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Affirm

In other Affirm news, Director Noel Bertram Watson sold 2,000 shares of Affirm stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total transaction of $110,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 38,076 shares in the company, valued at $2,094,180. This trade represents a 4.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Affirm

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AFRM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Affirm during the fourth quarter valued at about $281,961,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 3,234,260 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Affirm by 11,042.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,141,881 shares in the last quarter. Atreides Management LP grew 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 valued at $136,751,000 after purchasing an additional 1,670,429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew 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 valued at $412,315,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187,665 shares in the last quarter. 69.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.