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

Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 12,180,000 shares, a decline of 15.0% from the February 13th total of 14,330,000 shares. Currently, 4.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,890,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Affirm from $39.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Affirm from $50.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Affirm from $46.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. William Blair began coverage on shares of Affirm in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Affirm from $45.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.24.

Affirm Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AFRM opened at $43.70 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.90 billion, a PE ratio of -67.23 and a beta of 3.63. Affirm has a fifty-two week low of $22.25 and a fifty-two week high of $82.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 11.26 and a current ratio of 11.26. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.00.

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $0.44. Affirm had a negative net margin of 7.10% and a negative return on equity of 7.25%. Research analysts anticipate that Affirm will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Keith Rabois sold 16,086 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.32, for a total transaction of $1,002,479.52. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 93,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,839,010.08. This represents a 14.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert O’hare sold 6,541 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.28, for a total transaction of $407,373.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 2,963 shares in the company, valued at $184,535.64. The trade was a 68.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 59,801 shares of company stock valued at $3,806,093. Company insiders own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AFRM. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Affirm by 10.8% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,016,000 after purchasing an additional 2,432 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Affirm during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,419,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Affirm by 3.6% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Affirm by 3.2% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Affirm during the third quarter worth approximately $759,000. 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.