Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) Raised to "Strong-Buy" at Sanford C. Bernstein

Affirm Holdings (AFRM) shares are up nearly 80% this quarter after strong results and recent integrations. Piper Sandler started coverage with an Overweight rating and $103 target. Deutsche Bank raised its target to $85, Susquehanna to $105. Affirm reported fiscal Q3 revenue up 33% to $1.04B and EPS of $0.30.

Jim Cramer’s Wednesday watchlist cites lower stock futures and profit-taking. He highlights Meta’s reported plan to build a cloud business for AI compute, Micron’s expectation of more long-term supply deals, and Nike’s uninspiring quarter. He also notes upgrades for Salesforce/ServiceNow, a Goldman buy on FedEx Freight (PT $186), Citi raising Affirm PT to $115, QXO’s TopBuild acquisition, and U.S. export easing for Anthropic’s Claude models.

Affirm CFO O’Hare said a proposed bank charter would help the company bring more workflows in-house and diversify funding, not operate as a traditional bank. He said consumer credit remains healthy, with about $100M in loans originated daily and underwriting adjustments driven by internal delinquency data. Affirm targets 25%+ gross merchandise volume growth and a 3.75%–4% RLTC range.

Affirm CFO Rob O’Hare said the company is pursuing a bank charter mainly to diversify funding and bring more workflows in-house, adding that “Affirm itself is not becoming a bank.” He said an approved Affirm Bank subsidiary could collect deposits, initially affecting funding more than consumer products. O’Hare cited healthy consumer credit, about $100M loans/day, and a medium-term 25%+ GMV growth target.

Klarna began trading on the NYSE on Sept. 10, 2025, opening at $52 after a $40 IPO price, but the stock has since fallen below $40. The article says BNPL delinquency is increasingly visible in credit data, affecting originators’ risk (Klarna and Affirm) and boosting monetization of payment-behavior data for firms like FICO and TransUnion.

Affirm (AFRM) shares rose 5.9% in the afternoon after the company said its buy now, pay later options were integrated into Google Pay, appearing in Google Search and the Gemini app. Compass Point, Mizuho, and Evercore ISI raised price targets, while BTIG kept a Neutral rating citing mixed credit trends. The stock is volatile, up on the day but down 6.5% YTD.