Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) was upgraded by analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $76.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $83.00. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 22.27% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on AFRM. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Affirm in a report on Monday, December 29th. Rothschild Redb upgraded shares of Affirm from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Affirm in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Affirm in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Affirm from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.16.

Affirm Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:AFRM opened at $62.16 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.52 billion, a PE ratio of 92.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 3.56. The company has a current ratio of 12.80, a quick ratio of 12.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. Affirm has a twelve month low of $30.90 and a twelve month high of $100.00. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.34.

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.12. Affirm had a net margin of 6.74% and a return on equity of 7.75%. The company had revenue of $933.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $881.83 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.31) earnings per share. Affirm’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Affirm will post -0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Affirm

In related news, CFO Robert O’hare sold 36,401 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $2,912,080.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $109,440. This trade represents a 96.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Max R. Levchin sold 666,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.62, for a total value of $53,746,612.92. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 711,256 shares of company stock worth $57,231,923 in the last three months. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Affirm by 111.3% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 338 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of Affirm by 634.0% in the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Affirm in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. SouthState Corp lifted its stake in shares of Affirm by 190.5% in the second quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the period. Finally, Blume Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Affirm by 468.8% in the 2nd quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc. now owns 455 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. 69.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.