5 Most Anticipated Quarterly Earnings Releases to Watch

3. Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 41

Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM) owns and runs an ecommerce platform. The stock has gained in recent weeks on the back of a massive investment from GIC, a sovereign wealth fund based in Singapore. The investment came despite a more than 60% drop in the share price of the company over the past year as a result of investor concerns around growth stocks. There has also been takeover speculation around the firm with investment bank Goldman Sachs at the top of a potential list of buyers. 

On April 6, Piper Sandler analyst Kevin Barker maintained a Neutral rating on Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM) and lowered the price target on the stock to $58 from $65. The new target still implied a 42% upside potential in the shares. 

Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, New York-based investment firm Melvin Capital Management is a leading shareholder in Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM), with 3.2 million shares worth more than $321 million.

In its Q3 2021 investor letter, Bireme Capital highlighted a few stocks and Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

“We opened a more idiosyncratic short position in a company called Affirm (AFRM) in Q4.

Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM) is a “Buy Now, Pay Later” (BNPL) company founded by former PayPal CTO and cofounder Max Levchin. They provide installment loans to consumers, partnering with retail companies looking to drive higher sales. They have two primary products: a zero-fee installment loan for consumers with the best credit scores, and a more traditional product with 20%+ interest rates for subprime borrowers. Their stated plan is to disrupt the credit industry with more transparent, lower-fee loans.

At a roughly $28b market cap at the start of 2022, Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM) stock was priced at more than 20x trailing sales, a steep price for a money-losing lender. While their early lead in online BNPL transactions and partnerships with fast-growing retailers like Peloton has fueled significant historical growth, a wave of competition has arrived.”