Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Shares gapped up: AFRM opened at $58.40 vs a prior close of $55.82 and last traded at $59.32 on about 2.4M shares, signaling early buying interest.
• Quarterly beat with strong growth: Affirm reported $0.37 EPS vs $0.28 expected and $1.12B revenue (up 29.6% y/y), with a 7.6% net margin and 8.83% ROE.
• Analyst consensus and valuation: Wall Street’s consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $85 (mix of buy/hold ratings), while the stock trades at a high P/E (~72.8) and elevated beta (3.63).

Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $55.82, but opened at $58.40. Affirm shares last traded at $59.32, with a volume of 2,398,205 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFRM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Affirm in a report on Monday, February 9th. Compass Point reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Affirm in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Affirm from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Affirm in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Affirm from $95.00 to $83.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.00.

Affirm Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $19.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.82, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 3.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 11.41 and a quick ratio of 11.41. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $49.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.17.

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Affirm Holdings, Inc. will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Affirm

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in Affirm in the third quarter worth $19,077,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Affirm in the third quarter worth $6,036,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Affirm in the third quarter worth $1,315,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Affirm by 26.1% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 235,152 shares of the company's stock worth $17,185,000 after purchasing an additional 48,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Affirm by 96.3% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,261,611 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,889,000 after acquiring an additional 618,988 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.29% of the company's 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.

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