Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley lowered Affirm’s price target from $82 to $79 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying roughly 13% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: Affirm has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $97.41, supported by several brokerages raising their targets.
• Affirm shares slipped 0.4% to $69.81, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $4.62 versus $0.35 expected and revenue growth of 33.1% year over year.

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $82.00 to $79.00 in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's target price would indicate a potential upside of 13.17% from the company's previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on AFRM. Barclays increased their price target on Affirm from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Affirm from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Affirm from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Affirm in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Affirm from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Twenty-five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.41.

Affirm Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ AFRM traded down $0.27 on Monday, reaching $69.81. The company had a trading volume of 1,039,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,129,604. The stock's 50 day moving average is $73.26 and its 200-day moving average is $71.45. The stock has a market cap of $23.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 3.82. 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 52 week low of $42.10 and a 52 week high of $90.44.

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The company reported $4.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $4.27. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.11 billion. Affirm had a return on equity of 47.91% and a net margin of 45.29%. The company's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.20 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Affirm will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Affirm

In related news, CFO Robert O'Hare sold 65,591 shares of Affirm stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.02, for a total value of $5,248,591.82. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 2,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $218,774.68. This trade represents a 96.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Michael Linford sold 79,219 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $7,130,502.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 120,713 shares in the company, valued at $10,865,377.13. The trade was a 39.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 280,118 shares of company stock valued at $22,223,307 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Affirm

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Affirm by 3.7% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 7,587 shares of the company's stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. BG Investment Services LLC bought a new stake in Affirm during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,316,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in Affirm by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,094 shares of the company's stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its position in Affirm by 107.4% during the 3rd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 15,134 shares of the company's stock worth $1,048,000 after buying an additional 7,837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gibbs Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Affirm by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management now owns 8,131 shares of the company's stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. 69.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Affirm Company Profile

Affirm Holdings, Inc NASDAQ: AFRM operates a financial technology platform that provides consumers with flexible payment options at the point of sale. Its services allow shoppers to split eligible purchases into scheduled installments, with terms and costs disclosed before a transaction is completed.

Affirm's platform is available through online and mobile checkout experiences, as well as through the Affirm app. Its product offerings include buy now, pay later financing, the Affirm Card, and savings products.

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