Affirm slips after BTIG downgrades to 'neutral'

Shares of Affirm Holdings AFRM.O down 3.3% premarket to $62.58 after BTIG downgrades buy now, pay later (BNPL) firm to 'neutral' from 'buy'

Traditional prime point-of-sale lenders such as Capital One COF.N and Synchrony Financial SYF.N expected to begin loosening underwriting standards and take market share across the credit spectrum, a trend likely to hurt fintechs such as Affirm AFRM.O, BTIG says in note

BTIG says it worries AFRM will continue to experience revenue less transaction costs margin pressure as co experienced last qtr, while also not showing accelerating gross merchandise value growth

In turn, BTIG upgrades SYF to "buy" and assigns PT of $100, about 42% above that stock's last close

Prior to downgrade, BTIG had a $75 PT on AFRM

Avg rating among 24 analysts covering AFRM is "buy" and median PT is $69, latest LSEG data reflects

Through Fri close, AFRM shares up 6% YTD, including ~60% gain over the past three months