Affirm Holdings (NASDAQ:AFRM), who, among others, brought us the highly popular buy now pay later (BNPL), made a huge step today as word emerged about a new connection between it and Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) Apple Pay system. The move was a big enough step for investors to pile in, sending shares up nearly 8% in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.
The deal is set to kick in later this year—well in time for the upcoming Christmas shopping season—and will see Affirm’s buy now pay later system added to Apple Pay. This means not only one more option for Apple Pay users but also access to that low-hassle and highly flexible loan mechanism with just a handful of payments. Interestingly, Apple already brought out a buy now pay later mechanism of its own, but its move to add Affirm to its current payments system reinforces the idea
Building on a Winner
We know that Affirm, and others like it, delivered a big win for the 2023 Christmas shopping season. So, it’s not all that surprising to see Affirm capitalize on that win to try and get more of its line of services in front of users. In fact, it’s recently rolled out some extra options of its own. The Pay in 2 and Pay in 30 tools allow users to either pay off their bills in 30 days or in two payments over the course of two months. Affirm previously offered the Pay in 4 plan—four payments over four months—and a monthly plan over however long it took to pay off the bill.
Is Affirm a Buy or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on AFRM stock based on three Buys, seven Holds, and two Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 80.28% rally in its share price over the past year, the average AFRM price target of $38 per share implies 16.31% upside potential.
