Today, “buy now pay later” (BNPL) company Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) is seeing impressive buying pressure. Currently, AFRM stock is up more than 15% on heavy volume today.
This move comes amid a rather turbulent year for this BNPL stock. Indeed, Affirm has been hit by concerns that the buy now pay later space would become more siloed. Companies such as Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) have announced their own buy now pay later programs.
Additionally, Square (NASDAQ:SQ) announced a big splash in acquiring Australian BNPL company Afterpay. This $29 billion deal was as big as its price tag. Investors bullish on this space have thus looked at a range of outside options of late.
Accordingly, with Affirm’s hold on the market appearing to be slipping, investors have looked at other ways to play this space. AFRM stock sunk from a high of nearly $150 per share to a low of below $50 per share this summer.
Queue the come back.
Currently, shares of AFRM have soared back to the $127 level at the time of writing. Here’s today’s news that’s boosting shares of this BNPL play.
AFRM Stock Higher on Target Partnership
In a bid to join in on the BNPL craze, retailer Target (NYSE:TGT) has tapped Affirm and Sezzle as core partners. The company announced installment payment plans should be provided in advance of the holiday season. This move appears to be one made to entice shoppers to fill up their baskets this year.
For Target and Affirm, this deal seems to make sense. By adding more payment flexibility to its customer base, Target stands to benefit from higher growth. For Affirm, this high-profile partnership provides investors with confidence in Affirm’s ability to maintain market share.
This deal adds another high-profile client to Affirm’s customer base. The company’s core clientele includes the likes of Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). Investors in Affirm seem to like what they see with this partnership and are bidding up shares of AFRM stock accordingly.
On the date of publication, Chris MacDonald did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
