Appian (NASDAQ:APPN) Stock Rating Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Appian from “strong buy” to “hold.” Across analysts, the stock has an average “Reduce” rating and a $31 price target.
• Appian shares opened at $37.76, with a $2.70 billion market capitalization, after trading between $18.63 and $46.06 over the past year.
• The company reported quarterly revenue of $203.26 million, up 19.1% year over year and above estimates, while CEO Matthew Calkins sold 45,000 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Appian (NASDAQ:APPN - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on APPN. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Appian from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Appian from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Appian from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Appian from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Appian from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Appian presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $31.00.

Appian Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:APPN opened at $37.76 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a PE ratio of -251.72 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.73. Appian has a 12 month low of $18.63 and a 12 month high of $46.06.

Appian (NASDAQ:APPN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Appian had a negative return on equity of 35.20% and a negative net margin of 1.34%.The firm had revenue of $203.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.38 million. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 19.1% on a year-over-year basis. Appian has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.040-1.120 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.310-0.350 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Appian will post 0.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Appian

In other Appian news, CEO Matthew Calkins sold 45,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.19, for a total transaction of $1,583,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,629,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,329,577.36. This trade represents a 2.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 42.81% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Appian

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. RPD Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Appian in the first quarter worth about $94,496,000. Lead Edge Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Appian by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. Lead Edge Capital Management LLC now owns 1,905,634 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,945,000 after purchasing an additional 296,845 shares during the period. Cinctive Capital Management LP raised its stake in Appian by 59.0% during the 4th quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 295,603 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,470,000 after purchasing an additional 109,682 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in Appian in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,407,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Appian by 16.9% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,355,961 shares of the company's stock worth $32,692,000 after purchasing an additional 196,021 shares in the last quarter. 52.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Appian

Appian Corporation develops a low-code platform designed to help organizations build, manage and automate business applications and workflows. Its platform combines process orchestration, data management, artificial intelligence, robotic process automation and case management capabilities, enabling businesses to connect information from multiple systems and coordinate complex operational processes.

Appian provides cloud-based and self-managed deployment options, along with consulting, implementation, training and support services.

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