Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM) Short Interest Up 17.2% in March

Posted by Defense World Staff on Apr 20th, 2023

Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM – Get Rating) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 47,860,000 shares, a growth of 17.2% from the March 15th total of 40,850,000 shares. Currently, 23.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 18,760,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Affirm from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Affirm from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley cut Affirm from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $46.00 to $15.00 in a report on Friday, February 10th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Affirm from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 9th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Affirm in a report on Thursday, February 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.38.

Affirm Stock Performance

Shares of AFRM stock opened at $11.49 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.10 and a beta of 3.19. The business’s 50 day moving average is $11.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.52. The company has a current ratio of 11.40, a quick ratio of 11.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. Affirm has a 12-month low of $8.62 and a 12-month high of $40.97.

Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 8th. The company reported ($1.10) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.00) by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $399.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.33 million. Affirm had a negative net margin of 55.05% and a negative return on equity of 31.74%. Affirm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.57) EPS. Analysts expect that Affirm will post -3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Keith Rabois sold 17,286 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.15, for a total transaction of $192,738.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 51,860 shares of company stock valued at $702,360 over the last ninety days. 12.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Affirm

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Affirm during the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,544,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Affirm by 12.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,498,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $763,545,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883,050 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its holdings in Affirm by 9.8% in the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 20,510,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $384,769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,823,411 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Affirm by 96.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,571,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,507,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755,252 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. grew its position in Affirm by 38.2% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,180,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,773,000 after buying an additional 1,432,202 shares during the last quarter. 67.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Affirm

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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 from one to sixty months.