Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,310,000 shares, a growth of 25.7% from the February 28th total of 12,180,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 7,360,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 5.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Affirm Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AFRM opened at $45.19 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $14.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -69.52 and a beta of 3.63. The company has a quick ratio of 11.26, a current ratio of 11.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Affirm has a 52 week low of $22.25 and a 52 week high of $82.53. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.53.

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by $0.44. Affirm had a negative return on equity of 7.25% and a negative net margin of 7.10%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Affirm will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Affirm

In related news, Director Christa S. Quarles sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $400,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 137,325 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,986,000. The trade was a 3.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert O’hare sold 6,541 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.28, for a total value of $407,373.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 2,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $184,535.64. This represents a 68.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 62,301 shares of company stock valued at $3,920,543 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Affirm during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Affirm by 356.5% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 525 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Affirm in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Affirm during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Affirm during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AFRM. William Blair began coverage on shares of Affirm in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Affirm from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Affirm from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Affirm from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Affirm has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.76.

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.