Royal Bank of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) Stock

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) had its price objective hoisted by Royal Bank of Canada from $67.00 to $81.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “sector perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 9.46% from the stock’s previous close.

AFRM has been the topic of several other reports. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Affirm in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Affirm from $45.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Affirm from $57.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Affirm from $46.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wedbush upgraded Affirm from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $25.00 to $45.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Affirm presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.00.

Affirm Price Performance

NASDAQ AFRM traded up $12.25 on Friday, reaching $74.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 24,796,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,273,317. The stock has a market cap of $23.24 billion, a PE ratio of -52.09 and a beta of 3.66. Affirm has a twelve month low of $22.25 and a twelve month high of $76.88. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $62.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.86.

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $0.44. Affirm had a negative return on equity of 12.57% and a negative net margin of 17.67%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Affirm will post -0.62 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Affirm news, Director Noel Bertram Watson sold 2,500 shares of Affirm stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.05, for a total transaction of $180,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 41,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,989,858.85. The trade was a 5.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Libor Michalek sold 100,000 shares of Affirm stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total value of $6,200,000.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 159,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,885,838. This trade represents a 38.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,339,564 shares of company stock valued at $87,252,461. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Affirm

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Spyglass Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Affirm by 9.3% in the third quarter. Spyglass Capital Management LLC now owns 2,348,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,849,000 after purchasing an additional 200,449 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Affirm by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,272,058 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,368,000 after acquiring an additional 68,848 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Affirm by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 885,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,902,000 after acquiring an additional 5,169 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its position in shares of Affirm by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 770,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,908,000 after purchasing an additional 15,517 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Affirm by 269.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 724,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,814,000 after purchasing an additional 528,400 shares in the last quarter. 69.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.