Affirm Stock Sees Retail Skepticism Even As BoFA Reinstates ‘Buy,’ And Calls It ‘Best In Class’ Value In Payments

The broader AI narrative and regulatory concerns have weighed on sentiment, creating “attractive entry points among the highest-quality names,” says Bank of America.

• BofA also placed a ‘Buy’ rating on Affirm rival Klarna as well as Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, and Block.
• Analysts see AFRM stock rising by more than 60% over the next 12 months, after months of sharp weakness.
• Retail sentiment on Stocktwits for AFRM dropped to ‘extremely bearish.’

Bank of America reinstated a ‘Buy’ rating on Affirm Holdings, its rival Klarna, and major card issuers’ stock on Thursday, calling AFRM the best in class value stock.

The broader AI narrative and regulatory concerns have weighed on sentiment, but this has created "attractive entry points among the highest-quality names," BofA said in its investor note, summarized on The Fly.

The research firm’s “broadly constructive” view is supported by steady payments volume growth, rising digital commerce penetration, and improving cross-border trends, it said. BofA also placed a ‘Buy’ rating on Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, and Block.

AFRM, Peer KLAR Stocks Remain Under Pressure

Despite the upbeat view, Affirm shares fell 0.8% in the premarket session, while Klarna shares dropped 0.3%. Shares of both buy-now-pay-later players are down substantially year to date – 32% and 43%, respectively.

Investors remain unimpressed with Affirm and the broader buy-now-pay-later sector due to concerns over thin margins, rising credit risk, and heavy dependence on consumer spending cycles.

Last month, Affirm reported a $0.37 per share adjusted profit over revenue of $1.12 billion – beating analysts’ expectations on both counts – but its forward outlook failed to impress some investors.

Retail View On AFRM

Stocktwits sentiment for AFRM has been falling since the start of the week and was ‘extremely bearish’ as of early Thursday. Affirm shares are down 45% since their 2026 peak in September.

Currently, 22 of 30 analysts covering the stock recommend ‘Buy’ or higher, while eight rate it ‘Hold,’ per Koyfin. Their average price target of $82.16 implies an upside of 61% from the stock’s last close. 

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