Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM) by 11.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,059 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,888 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Affirm were worth $615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AFRM. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Affirm in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Affirm during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Affirm by 82.4% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Affirm by 80.0% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares during the period. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Affirm by 255.1% in the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 1,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 954 shares in the last quarter. 69.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AFRM shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Affirm from $54.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Affirm from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Affirm from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Affirm from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $37.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wedbush raised shares of Affirm from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $25.00 to $45.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.44.

Affirm Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AFRM opened at $66.55 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $46.89 and its 200 day moving average is $36.73. The stock has a market cap of $20.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -46.87 and a beta of 3.47. Affirm Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.25 and a 1-year high of $70.03. The company has a current ratio of 12.60, a quick ratio of 12.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.50.

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.31) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.36) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $698.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.39 million. Affirm had a negative net margin of 17.67% and a negative return on equity of 12.57%. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.57) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Affirm Holdings, Inc. will post -0.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Libor Michalek sold 77,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.08, for a total transaction of $4,940,888.40. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 159,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,217,491.92. This represents a 32.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christa S. Quarles sold 14,400 shares of Affirm stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total transaction of $576,288.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 141,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,678,958.06. The trade was a 9.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 580,843 shares of company stock worth $32,256,766 in the last 90 days. 12.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Affirm

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.