Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $55.35, but opened at $60.45. Affirm shares last traded at $60.04, with a volume of 2,609,707 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Affirm from $50.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Affirm from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $70.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. BTIG Research raised Affirm from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wedbush raised Affirm from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $25.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Affirm in a research note on Friday, October 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.88.

Affirm Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 12.60 and a current ratio of 12.60. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.86.

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) last released 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 return on equity of 12.57% and a negative net margin of 17.67%. The firm had revenue of $698.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.57) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Affirm Holdings, Inc. will post -0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Michael Linford sold 400,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.99, for a total value of $27,596,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 85,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,893,125.80. This represents a 82.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Katherine Adkins sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.05, for a total value of $11,010,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 93,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,149,652.25. This trade represents a 68.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,323,478 shares of company stock valued at $86,285,371. 12.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Affirm

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Spyglass Capital Management LLC increased its position in 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. increased its position in Affirm by 44.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,203,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,935,000 after buying an additional 672,883 shares during the period. Dragoneer Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Affirm during the 2nd quarter worth $45,219,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its position in Affirm by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 770,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,908,000 after buying an additional 15,517 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Affirm by 269.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 724,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,814,000 after buying an additional 528,400 shares during the period. 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.