Piper Sandler Upgrades Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) to Strong-Buy

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) was upgraded by research analysts at Piper Sandler to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on AFRM. Robert W. Baird set a $70.00 target price on shares of Affirm in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Citizens Jmp decreased their price target on shares of Affirm from $105.00 to $85.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Affirm from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Affirm in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Affirm from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.60.

Affirm Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AFRM opened at $81.55 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $68.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.91. Affirm has a twelve month low of $42.10 and a twelve month high of $100.00. The stock has a market cap of $27.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.14, a PEG ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 3.70. The company has a quick ratio of 11.32, a current ratio of 11.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39.

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.13. Affirm had a return on equity of 11.17% and a net margin of 9.63%.The company had revenue of $943.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $995.27 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.01 earnings per share. Affirm’s revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Affirm will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Noel Bertram Watson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $130,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 36,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,940. The trade was a 5.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.04, for a total transaction of $8,004,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 117,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,443,439.36. This trade represents a 45.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 104,000 shares of company stock worth $8,244,000 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Affirm

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Affirm by 2.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 193,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,748,000 after buying an additional 3,892 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Affirm by 90.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 8,014 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in shares of Affirm in the first quarter worth about $243,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Affirm by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Affirm by 44.8% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 191,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,242,000 after acquiring an additional 59,297 shares during the period. 69.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Affirm Company 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.