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

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $82.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $70.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research raised Affirm from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Affirm from $56.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Affirm from $50.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Affirm from $45.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Affirm from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $22.00 to $37.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Affirm currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.94.

Affirm Trading Up 4.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AFRM opened at $65.64 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $57.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.90. 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 has a 1 year low of $22.25 and a 1 year high of $73.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.61 billion, a PE ratio of -46.23 and a beta of 3.66.

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.57) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Affirm will post -0.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Robert O’hare sold 100,938 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total value of $5,551,590.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Libor Michalek sold 6,629 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.08, for a total transaction of $477,818.32. Following the transaction, the president now owns 160,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,576,120.08. This trade represents a 3.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,300,851 shares of company stock worth $84,875,518. Insiders own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Affirm

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFRM. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Affirm by 40.1% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 69,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,102,000 after purchasing an additional 19,920 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Affirm by 25.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 866,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,190,000 after buying an additional 176,675 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised 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 during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Affirm by 1.1% during the second quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 71,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,158,000 after acquiring an additional 753 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in Affirm in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.29% of the company’s stock.

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.