Affirm Holdings, Inc. $AFRM Shares Purchased by SBI Securities Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• SBI Securities boosted its stake in Affirm by 83.4%, buying 22,054 shares to hold 48,504 shares worth about $3.61 million, and several other institutions also materially increased positions (institutional ownership ~69.3%).
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive with an average MarketBeat target of $83.76 and ratings clustered at "Buy"/"Overweight" after recent target increases from firms like Truist, Cantor Fitzgerald and BMO.
• Affirm beat Q results (EPS $0.37 vs $0.28 estimate; revenue $1.12B, +29.6% YoY) but still trades at a high valuation (P/E ~81) and elevated volatility (beta ~3.72).

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM - Free Report) by 83.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,504 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,054 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Affirm were worth $3,610,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. acquired a new stake in Affirm during the fourth quarter worth about $1,680,000. Strs Ohio increased its position in Affirm by 85.5% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 24,884 shares of the company's stock worth $1,852,000 after purchasing an additional 11,468 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its stake in Affirm by 75.9% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 793,941 shares of the company's stock worth $59,093,000 after buying an additional 342,669 shares during the period. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in Affirm during the fourth quarter worth about $8,104,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Affirm by 63.6% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 522 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. 69.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFRM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Affirm in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Affirm from $71.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Affirm from $94.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Affirm in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Affirm from $61.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $83.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Noel Bertram Watson sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total value of $110,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 38,076 shares of the company's stock, 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 through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Affirm Trading Down 1.8%

NASDAQ AFRM opened at $65.58 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 11.41 and a current ratio of 11.41. Affirm Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $42.10 and a one year high of $100.00. The firm has a market cap of $21.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.96, a PEG ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 3.72.

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share 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 firm's revenue was up 29.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Affirm Holdings, Inc. will post 1.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Affirm 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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