Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) had its price target boosted by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $39.00 to $55.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential downside of 6.70% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. BTIG Research raised Affirm from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citizens Jmp upgraded Affirm from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Affirm in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Affirm from $50.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, JMP Securities upgraded shares of Affirm from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $78.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.88.

Affirm Trading Up 2.3 %

NASDAQ:AFRM opened at $58.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 12.60 and a current ratio of 12.60. Affirm has a 1 year low of $22.25 and a 1 year high of $73.34. The stock has a market cap of $18.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -41.51 and a beta of 3.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.74.

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.31) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.36) by $0.05. Affirm had a negative net margin of 17.67% and a negative return on equity of 12.57%. The company had revenue of $698.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.57) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Affirm will post -0.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Libor Michalek sold 6,629 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.08, for a total value of $477,818.32. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 160,601 shares in the company, valued at $11,576,120.08. The trade was a 3.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael Linford sold 400,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.99, for a total transaction of $27,596,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 85,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,893,125.80. This trade represents a 82.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,323,478 shares of company stock valued at $86,285,371. Corporate insiders own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AFRM. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Affirm by 2,305.3% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 195,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,466,000 after acquiring an additional 187,790 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Affirm during the third quarter worth approximately $1,419,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Affirm in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $391,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Affirm in the 3rd quarter valued at $731,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Affirm during the 3rd quarter worth $464,000. 69.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Affirm Company Profile

Affirm Holdings, Inc operates a platform for digital and mobile-first commerce in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company's platform includes point-of-sale payment solution for consumers, merchant commerce solutions, and a consumer-focused app. Its commerce platform, agreements with originating banks, and capital markets partners enables consumers to pay for a purchase over time with terms ranging up to 60 months.