Affirm Stock in Focus After Goldman Sachs Lifts Price Target

Goldman Sachs has lifted its price target on Affirm Holdings, putting the buy now, pay later lender back on investors' radar. A higher target from a major Wall Street bank is not a buy rating in itself, but it does suggest analysts see more room in the shares than the market has recently allowed.

The move comes as Affirm's interest-bearing loan portfolio has been growing at a solid clip. That matters for the company's economics, since loans kept on its own balance sheet generally generate more revenue per transaction than loans sold to partners. Growth there can help offset pressure elsewhere in the model.

Even so, Affirm has trailed the broader market so far this year, and the improved sentiment is only beginning to show. Shares in the consumer lender have been sensitive to shifts in appetite for higher-multiple financial technology names, which have swung widely with rate expectations.

Whether the stock is a buy depends on how long that recovery runs. Investors will be watching loan growth, credit quality and consumer spending for signs that the momentum is durable, while weighing the risk that a weaker backdrop for borrowers could blunt the upside Goldman now appears to see.