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

Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 18,340,000 shares, a decrease of 5.3% from the October 15th total of 19,370,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 10,770,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days. Approximately 7.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Affirm Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AFRM opened at $63.96 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.09 billion, a PE ratio of -45.04 and a beta of 3.47. 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 $64.01. The business’s 50 day moving average is $45.50 and its 200-day moving average is $36.11.

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.31) earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $698.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.57) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Affirm will post -0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AFRM shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Affirm from $54.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Affirm from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Affirm from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wedbush upgraded shares of Affirm from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $25.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of Affirm in a research report on Friday, October 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Christa S. Quarles sold 14,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total transaction of $576,288.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 141,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,678,958.06. This trade represents a 9.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Katherine Adkins sold 6,084 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $273,780.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 122,069 shares in the company, valued at $5,493,105. This represents a 4.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 403,738 shares of company stock valued at $21,115,878. Corporate insiders own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Affirm

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFRM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Affirm by 6.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,823,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $775,895,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316,901 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Affirm by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,079,071 shares of the company’s stock worth $710,886,000 after buying an additional 77,050 shares in the last quarter. Spyglass Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Affirm by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Spyglass Capital Management LLC now owns 2,348,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,849,000 after buying an additional 200,449 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Affirm by 44.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,203,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,935,000 after buying an additional 672,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dragoneer Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Affirm in the second quarter valued at $45,219,000. Institutional investors 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.