Nykredit A S Invests $7.17 Million in Affirm Holdings, Inc. $AFRM

Key Points

• Nykredit A/S acquired a new $7.17 million stake in Affirm during the second quarter, purchasing 87,921 shares. Institutional investors collectively own 69.29% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with 23 analysts rating Affirm a Buy and a consensus price target of $99.12. Recent quarterly revenue rose 33.1% year over year, while EPS significantly exceeded estimates despite revenue falling short of expectations.
• Insider selling presents a potential near-term overhang: Affirm insiders sold approximately $21.2 million of stock over the past 90 days, including sales by the COO and director-level executives under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.

Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 87,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,170,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Affirm in the 4th quarter valued at $281,961,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Affirm by 294.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,333,691 shares of the company's stock worth $316,706,000 after acquiring an additional 3,234,260 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Affirm by 11,042.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,161,278 shares of the company's stock worth $157,004,000 after acquiring an additional 2,141,881 shares during the last quarter. Atreides Management LP grew its stake in shares of Affirm by 543.3% in the 2nd quarter. Atreides Management LP now owns 1,977,882 shares of the company's stock worth $136,751,000 after acquiring an additional 1,670,429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Affirm by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,641,965 shares of the company's stock worth $412,315,000 after acquiring an additional 1,187,665 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.29% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Affirm

Here are the key news stories impacting Affirm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains strong: Mizuho Securities initiated or reiterated a Buy rating for Affirm, while Truist raised its price target from $83 to $85 and maintained a Buy rating. Scotiabank also began coverage with a Sector Outperform recommendation. These actions reinforce the bullish view that Affirm can continue expanding its payments and lending business. Affirm Receives a Buy from Mizuho Securities Scotiabank Initiates Coverage of Affirm
• Positive Sentiment: Demand may be benefiting from consumer pressure: Inflation and elevated gas costs are encouraging consumers to use installment-payment products, potentially supporting transaction volume and revenue growth. Affirm’s disciplined underwriting is viewed as a way to limit rising credit risk. Consumer Pressure Rises, but Demand for Affirm’s Services Also Rises
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent fundamentals provide support: Affirm’s latest quarterly revenue increased 33.1% year over year, and reported EPS substantially exceeded consensus estimates, although revenue was below expectations. Analysts overall maintain a Moderate Buy consensus, with an average price target of $99.12.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling is a near-term overhang: COO and director-level insider sales totaling roughly $10 million were reported, including Katherine Adkins’ sale of 41,664 shares. The transactions were conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, which reduces their value as a signal of current management sentiment but may still pressure the stock.

Insider Activity

In other Affirm news, COO Michael Linford sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.04, for a total transaction of $8,004,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 117,984 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,443,439.36. This represents a 45.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Katherine Adkins sold 41,664 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 152,439 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,513,717.67. This trade represents a 21.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 262,547 shares of company stock valued at $21,220,779. Insiders own 11.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AFRM shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Affirm from $86.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Affirm from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Affirm from $106.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Zacks Research lowered Affirm from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Affirm from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Affirm has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.12.

Affirm Stock Performance

Shares of AFRM opened at $72.35 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $77.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 11.80 and a current ratio of 11.80. Affirm Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $42.10 and a 52-week high of $93.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 3.61.

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Affirm had a net margin of 45.29% and a return on equity of 47.91%. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.20 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Affirm Holdings, Inc. will post 1.87 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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