Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Scotiabank

Key Points

• Scotiabank initiated coverage of Affirm with a “sector outperform” rating. The broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $99.20.
• Affirm’s shares opened at $69.94 after falling 6.1%, despite reporting quarterly EPS of $4.62—well above the $0.35 consensus estimate—and 33.1% year-over-year revenue growth to $1.07 billion.
• COO Michael Linford sold 100,000 shares worth approximately $8 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan; corporate insiders own 11.01% of the stock, while institutions and hedge funds hold 69.29%.

Stock analysts at Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM - Get Free Report) in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on AFRM. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Affirm from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Affirm from $80.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Affirm from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Affirm from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Affirm from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.20.

Affirm Trading Down 6.1%

NASDAQ:AFRM opened at $69.94 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 11.80, a current ratio of 11.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. Affirm has a 1-year low of $42.10 and a 1-year high of $93.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 3.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.84.

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The company reported $4.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $4.27. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.11 billion. Affirm had a net margin of 45.29% and a return on equity of 47.91%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.20 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Affirm will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Michael Linford sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.04, for a total transaction of $8,004,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 117,984 shares in the company, valued at $9,443,439.36. This represents a 45.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AFRM. Greenline Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Affirm during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in Affirm during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Affirm in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Affirm in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new position in shares of Affirm in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.29% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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