AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on AppFolio from $325.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “buy” rating on shares of AppFolio in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded AppFolio from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on AppFolio from $350.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group set a $260.00 target price on shares of AppFolio and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AppFolio presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $270.83.

AppFolio Price Performance

Shares of APPF stock opened at $179.73 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $222.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $247.26. AppFolio has a 1-year low of $176.87 and a 1-year high of $326.04. The firm has a market cap of $6.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.32 and a beta of 0.75.

AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The software maker reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $248.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $246.56 million. AppFolio had a net margin of 14.82% and a return on equity of 29.79%. AppFolio’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. Analysts expect that AppFolio will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AppFolio

In related news, CEO William Shane Trigg sold 3,947 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.45, for a total transaction of $949,056.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,390,388.50. The trade was a 7.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Timothy Mathias Eaton sold 517 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.34, for a total value of $118,051.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,307,147.36. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,745 shares of company stock worth $2,097,550. 4.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AppFolio

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in AppFolio by 101.8% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 111 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AppFolio during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of AppFolio by 2,116.7% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 133 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in shares of AppFolio in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in AppFolio by 373.3% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 142 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. 85.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AppFolio

AppFolio, Inc is a Santa Barbara–based provider of cloud-based software solutions for the property management and legal industries. Founded in 2006 by former software executives, the company went public on the NASDAQ under the symbol APPF in 2015. Its original offering, AppFolio Property Manager, automates accounting, marketing, leasing, and maintenance functions for residential, commercial, student housing, and community association managers.

In 2019, AppFolio expanded its portfolio with the acquisition of MyCase, a web-based legal practice management platform for small to mid-size law firms.