Affirm Holdings, Inc. $AFRM Stock: Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Boosts Stake

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group increased its Affirm stake by 2.6% in the third quarter, adding 13,330 shares to reach 528,628 shares valued at about $36.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 69.29% of the stock.
• Analysts have a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $97.41; 25 analysts rate the stock Buy, seven Hold, and one Strong Buy.
• Affirm’s latest quarterly results showed revenue up 33.1% year over year to $1.07 billion, below analyst expectations of $1.11 billion, while reported EPS of $4.62 exceeded the $0.35 consensus estimate.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM - Free Report) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 528,628 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,330 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Affirm worth $36,597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AFRM. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Affirm during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $75,121,000. Ardmore Road Asset Management LP raised its position in Affirm by 849.6% during the 1st quarter. Ardmore Road Asset Management LP now owns 600,000 shares of the company's stock worth $27,492,000 after purchasing an additional 536,814 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Affirm during the 1st quarter worth $14,798,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Affirm by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,577,264 shares of the company's stock worth $71,829,000 after buying an additional 303,037 shares during the period. Finally, Spyglass Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Affirm by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. Spyglass Capital Management LLC now owns 1,662,325 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,168,000 after buying an additional 218,745 shares during the last quarter. 69.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFRM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Affirm from $93.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Affirm from $80.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Compass Point set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Affirm in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Affirm in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Affirm from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Affirm has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $97.41.

Affirm Trading Up 5.0%

Shares of AFRM stock opened at $75.59 on Thursday. Affirm Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $90.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 11.80 and a current ratio of 11.80. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.60. The company has a market cap of $25.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.69, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 3.74.

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.20 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Affirm Holdings, Inc. will post 1.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Affirm

In related news, insider Katherine Adkins sold 41,664 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.53, for a total value of $3,146,881.92. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 152,439 shares in the company, valued at $11,513,717.67. This trade represents a 21.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Siphelele Jiyane sold 26,980 shares of Affirm stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.19, for a total transaction of $1,947,686.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 188,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,623,047.09. This represents a 12.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 280,118 shares of company stock worth $22,223,307 over the last three months. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Affirm

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.

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.