William Blair Begins Coverage on Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM)

Research analysts at William Blair began coverage on shares of Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on AFRM. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Affirm from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Wedbush raised Affirm from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $25.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. BTIG Research raised shares of Affirm from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Affirm from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Affirm from $57.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Affirm currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.88.

Affirm Price Performance

Affirm stock opened at $58.00 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.84 and a beta of 3.67. The company has a quick ratio of 12.60, a current ratio of 12.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.50. Affirm has a 52-week low of $22.25 and a 52-week high of $73.34.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Robert O’hare sold 100,938 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Keith Rabois sold 16,086 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.32, for a total transaction of $1,002,479.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 93,694 shares in the company, valued at $5,839,010.08. This trade represents a 14.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,323,478 shares of company stock worth $86,285,371. Corporate insiders own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Affirm

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AFRM. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Affirm during the fourth quarter worth about $249,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Affirm by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 116,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,110,000 after purchasing an additional 9,364 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in shares of Affirm by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 770,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,908,000 after purchasing an additional 15,517 shares during the period. Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Affirm during the fourth quarter worth $647,000. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Affirm by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. 69.29% of the stock is 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.