Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) Raised to "Strong-Buy" at Sanford C. Bernstein

Key Points

• Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Affirm to “strong-buy,” adding to a generally bullish analyst backdrop. MarketBeat says the stock now has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.63.
• Affirm’s latest quarterly results topped EPS expectations, reporting $0.30 per share versus the $0.17 estimate. Revenue came in at $943.95 million, below expectations, but still rose 32.7% year over year.
• The stock traded around $73.92 and was down 1.1% on the day, after previously reaching a 52-week high of $100.00. Recent insider sales by the COO and a director were also disclosed.

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Sanford C. Bernstein to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

AFRM has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Stephens upped their target price on Affirm from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 price objective on Affirm and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of Affirm from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Compass Point set a $100.00 price objective on Affirm in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Affirm from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Affirm presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $92.63.

Affirm Stock Down 1.1%

NASDAQ AFRM opened at $73.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.20, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 3.67. Affirm has a 12 month low of $42.10 and a 12 month high of $100.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 11.32 and a quick ratio of 11.32. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $73.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.74.

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $943.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $995.27 million. Affirm had a return on equity of 11.17% and a net margin of 9.63%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.01 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Affirm will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Affirm

In other news, COO Michael Linford sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.04, for a total value of $8,004,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 117,984 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,443,439.36. This represents a 45.87% decrease in their position. The transaction 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, Director Noel Bertram Watson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $130,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 36,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,344,940. This represents a 5.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 11.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Affirm

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Affirm by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,847,206 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,849,378,000 after acquiring an additional 428,138 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Affirm by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 23,145,942 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,722,797,000 after acquiring an additional 104,239 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Affirm by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,710,914 shares of the company's stock worth $1,615,953,000 after purchasing an additional 507,224 shares in the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Affirm by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 7,389,337 shares of the company's stock valued at $510,899,000 after acquiring an additional 808,455 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Affirm by 26.7% during 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 during the period. 69.29% of the stock is 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.

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