: Affirm’s stock gets a lift after Barclays calls it ‘a winner through the cycle’

Shares of Affirm Holdings Inc. AFRM were rising more than 8% in Thursday’s midday action after Barclays analyst Ramsey El-Assal boosted his price target on the buy-now-pay-later stock to $19 from $16. He wrote that he doesn’t expect many surprises in Affirm’s June-quarter earnings report, though he thinks expectations for revenue less transaction costs might be too upbeat. “At the same time, the consumer backdrop is more benign than expected, and we continue to view AFRM as a winner through the cycle,” El-Assal wrote, as he reiterated an overweight rating on the shares. He’ll be watching for updates on the company’s push toward profitability. “We believe AFRM’s recent announcement of its divestiture of Returnly is indicative of the company’s willingness to make strategic adjustments to drive core profitability,” he noted. Shares of Affirm have gained 84% so far this year, though they’re off 5% over a one-month span.

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