Are These The Best Fintech Stocks To Invest In Right Now?
For those keeping up with the latest stock market news, you would know that the Fed’s taper talks are now turning to reality. Regardless, fintech stocks continue to be worth keeping an eye on. Fintech services have remained relevant in good times and bad. After all, consumers and businesses will rely on the industry regardless of the current economic cycles. With the growing reliance on digital financial services, this could be the current play for some investors.
At the same time, some of the biggest names in the industry continue to bolster their operations. In particular, the likes of Square (NYSE: SQ) and Visa (NYSE: V) are hard at work building their consumer offerings. On one hand, Square’s shareholders recently approved the $29 billion purchase of Afterpay, a leading Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) service provider in Australia. This would mark the largest BNPL-related buyout in the Australian market to date. According to the company, the acquisition will likely close in the first quarter of 2022.
On the other hand, Visa is reportedly looking for tech startups from across the Asia Pacific to join its accelerator program. Namely, the program focuses on helping small and medium business owners expand their operations into new markets. For Visa, this would also allow it to tap into upcoming names in the region for potential collaborations. Also, all this would be after Visa reported solid figures all-round in its latest quarterly earnings call last week. With all that said, here are three top fintech stocks to know in the stock market today.
3 Top Fintech Stocks To Buy [Or Sell] This Month
- Robinhood Markets Inc. (NASDAQ: HOOD)
- PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL)
- Affirm Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: AFRM)
Robinhood Markets
Starting us off today is Robinhood Markets. In brief, Robinhood is a financial services firm, providing mobile trading services to consumers. The company is a pioneering name in the commission-free stock trading industry. From conventional equities and exchange-traded funds to the hottest cryptocurrencies, Robinhood has plenty to offer new investors. Considering the recent rise in retail investor activity since last year, Robinhood could continue to see high demand for its services.
Notably, HOOD stock jumped by over 5% during intraday trading yesterday thanks to the company’s latest announcement. As of yesterday, Robinhood now facilitates the purchasing of initial public offerings (IPOs). Through its IPO Access platform, companies can now choose to set aside stock for retail traders with ties to the issuers. Additionally, Robinhood also revealed its Directed Share Programs (DSPs) for employees, customers, vendors, or other parties that have relations with issuing companies. In detail, companies that employ DSPs reserve a portion of IPO shares for specific groups. Subsequently, Robinhood helps to distribute these shares to their intended recipients.
Overall, with the nature of Robinhood’s core markets in mind, this would be a strategic play. This would be the case given the hot streak of IPOs throughout the pandemic. With Robinhood providing consumers access to such comprehensive trading services, HOOD stock could be in focus this week. Would you agree?
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PayPal
When talking about the fintech industry, PayPal, would be a go-to for many as well. Rightfully so as the company currently caters to more than 400 million consumers in over 200 global markets. Given the size and reach of PayPal’s operations, investors could be watching PYPL stock now. This would not surprise me seeing as PayPal is set to report its latest quarterly earnings figures next Monday.
To begin with, the company’s shares are currently sitting on gains of over 150% since its pandemic era low. With the sudden rise in demand for PayPal’s contactless payment services, this is understandable. Now, with more of its core competitors stepping up their respective games, investors may want to see if PayPal can keep up. If anything, the company seems to see continued growth ahead. PayPal’s current estimates for sales are currently between $6.15 billion to $6.25 billion. This would indicate a potential 14% year-over-year upside on the high end.
By and large, a potential growth catalyst for PayPal would be the increase in leisure spending. The likes of which could stem from the return of travel or consumers looking to improve their at-home entertainment overall ahead of the holiday season. Meanwhile, PayPal is not sitting idly by on the operational front as well. Just last week, the company launched its Zettle Terminal in the U.K., an all-in-one point of sale (POS) solution for small businesses. Given PayPal’s current overall momentum, will you be adding PYPL stock to your portfolio ahead of its earnings report?
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Affirm
Next, we have a rising star in the BNPL space now, Affirm. For the uninitiated, the company specializes in providing payment services for consumers. As the name suggests, BNPL allows buyers to pay for larger purchases over a series of smaller payments. With BNPL being the payment method of choice for more consumers by the day, Affirm continues to prosper. This is evident as it is now collaborating with the likes of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), and American Airlines (NASDAQ: AAL).
More importantly, investors appear to be bullish on AFRM stock given all of this. Year-to-date, the company’s shares have already skyrocketed by over 65%. Even so, the BNPL firm seems to be having a busy week as well. For starters, the company appears keen on penetrating the Australian market. As of yesterday, the company is expanding its existing partnership with Peloton (NASDAQ: PTON). In doing so, it is now officially launching in the region. Considering the average price of Peloton’s exercise hardware, Affirm’s services could be useful for interested Australian buyers.
That’s not all, the company also announced a collaboration with ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ: ACIW), a global provider of real-time digital payment solutions. Thanks to the current deal, ACI’s U.S. merchants now have access to Affirm’s BNPL payment services. All in all, Affirm continues to go from strength to strength. With the company reporting its third-quarter earnings on November 10, is AFRM stock a top buy in your book now?
