Jefferies Financial Group Upgrades Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) to Buy

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) was upgraded by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $82.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $70.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 24.92% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on AFRM. Bank of America raised their target price on Affirm from $50.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Affirm from $45.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Affirm in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Affirm from $64.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Affirm from $57.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Affirm currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.94.

Affirm Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AFRM opened at $65.64 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $20.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -46.23 and a beta of 3.66. Affirm has a one year low of $22.25 and a one year high of $73.34. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.90. 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 (NASDAQ:AFRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.36) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $698.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.57) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Affirm will post -0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Robert O’hare sold 100,938 shares of Affirm stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total transaction of $5,551,590.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Katherine Adkins sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.05, for a total transaction of $11,010,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 93,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,149,652.25. The trade was a 68.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,300,851 shares of company stock valued at $84,875,518 over the last three months. Company insiders own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Affirm

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Affirm in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Affirm in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Affirm by 82.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Affirm by 168.2% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Affirm by 200.5% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.29% of the company’s stock.

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.