Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM)

Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders bought 34,696 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 87% compared to the average volume of 18,557 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Affirm from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Affirm from $90.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Affirm in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Affirm from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Affirm from $86.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.81.

Affirm Trading Up 9.0%

AFRM stock traded up $6.94 during trading on Friday, reaching $84.43. The company had a trading volume of 8,760,020 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,210,522. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 11.32 and a quick ratio of 11.32. Affirm has a 52 week low of $42.10 and a 52 week high of $100.00. The business has a 50 day moving average of $77.37 and a 200 day moving average of $64.50. The company has a market cap of $28.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.75, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 3.71.

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 27th. The company reported $4.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $4.27. Affirm had a return on equity of 11.17% and a net margin of 9.63%.The business had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.20 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Affirm will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Affirm News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Affirm this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong operating performance: Affirm reported 33% year-over-year revenue growth, 36% gross merchandise volume growth and a 49% increase in adjusted operating income. Expanding margins, stable credit performance and a 103-basis-point decline in funding costs to 5.8% supported profitability. Affirm: Ignore The Ludicrous $1.6 Billion, Own The Real Story
• Positive Sentiment: Headline earnings beat estimates: Fiscal fourth-quarter EPS was $4.62 versus consensus estimates of roughly $0.33-$0.35, compared with $0.20 a year earlier. The earnings release and related coverage also pointed to better-than-expected GMV and continued momentum in the BNPL business. Affirm Stock Jumps After Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support improved: BMO Capital Markets raised its price target to $101 and assigned an outperform rating, while Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed its overweight rating with an $88 target. Morgan Stanley also increased its target to $80, although it maintained an equal-weight rating.
• Positive Sentiment: International expansion: Affirm and Shopify launched Shop Pay Installments in Australia, extending Affirm’s exclusive partnership to another market and potentially broadening transaction volume over time. Affirm and Shopify launch Shop Pay Installments in Australia
• Neutral Sentiment: Fiscal 2027 outlook: First-quarter revenue guidance of approximately $1.2 billion was broadly in line with consensus, limiting the possibility of a major near-term forecast surprise.
• Negative Sentiment: Quality of the EPS beat is a concern: The unusually large GAAP profit primarily reflected a one-time tax allowance release rather than recurring earnings power. Revenue of $1.07 billion also fell short of the approximately $1.11 billion analyst estimate, making underlying operating metrics more important to investors.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and mixed ratings: With a high earnings multiple and a recent Zacks downgrade from strong buy to hold, some investors may question whether the operational gains are fully reflected in AFRM’s valuation.

Insider Buying and Selling at Affirm

In other news, COO Michael Linford sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.04, for a total value of $8,004,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 117,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,443,439.36. This represents a 45.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Affirm

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFRM. Corient Private Wealth LP boosted its holdings in shares of Affirm by 101.4% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 31,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,533,000 after buying an additional 15,642 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Affirm in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,158,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Affirm by 7,715.3% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 29,932,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,440,977,000 after acquiring an additional 29,549,277 shares in the last quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP lifted its position in Affirm by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP now owns 67,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,490,000 after acquiring an additional 2,970 shares during the period. Finally, Aspire Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Affirm by 8.2% during the second quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.29% of the company’s stock.

Affirm Company Profile

Affirm Holdings, Inc is a financial technology company that provides point-of-sale consumer lending and payments solutions for online and in-store purchases. Its core product is a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) platform that enables consumers to split purchases into fixed, transparent installment loans with no hidden fees. Affirm offers a range of financing options through merchant integrations, a consumer-facing mobile app and virtual card capabilities, and tools for merchants to offer alternative payment methods at checkout.