Buy now, pay later player Affirm Holdings, Inc
Levchin projected bullish prospects for the BNPL firms, citing current consumer shopping trends. Affirm stock is up close to 6% on Friday.
Affirm, on Wednesday, reported fourth-quarter topline growth of 47.8% to $659 million, beating the analyst consensus. The company narrowed its net loss to ($45) million, down from ($206) million a year ago.
It expects to be profitable by the fiscal fourth quarter of 2025. Revenue at Affirm climbed 49% in the first half of 2024, compared with a 27% growth at Klarna. Klarna posted a breakeven second-quarter quarter on a net income basis.
Buy now, pay later firms are currently under a regulatory compliance grace period, during which the regulator requires them to investigate disputes, refund returned products, and provide billing statements.
JPMorgan analyst Reginald Smith, ahead of Affirm's fourth-quarter print, hailed it as a top fintech pick, backed by multi-year volume, revenue growth, and margin expansion opportunity.
The global BNPL market will likely grow from $30.38 billion in 2023 to $37.19 billion in 2024 to $ 167.58 billion by 2032, implying a CAGR of 20.7%.
Affirm Holdings stock gained 108% in the last 12 months.
Affirm Stock Prediction For 2024
Equity research analysts on and off Wall Street typically use earnings growth and fundamental research as a form of valuation and forecasting. But many in trading turn to technical analysis as a way to form predictive models for share price trajectory.
Some investors look to trends to help forecast where they believe a stock could trade at a certain point in the future. Looking at Affirm, an investor could make an assessment about a stock's long term prospects using a moving average and trend line.
If they believe a stock will remain above the moving average, which many believe is a bullish signal, they can extrapolate that trend into the future using a trend line. For Affirm, the 200-day moving average sits at $34.79, according to Benzinga Pro, which is below the current price of $43.64. For more on charts and trend lines, see a description here.
Traders believe that when a stock is above its moving average, it is a generally bullish signal, and when it crosses below, it is a more negative signal. Investors could use trend lines to make an educated guess about where a stock could trade at a later date if conditions remain stable.
Price Action: AFRM stock is up 6.55% at $44.39 at the last check on Friday.
