AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF) Stock Price Up 7.5% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• AppFolio shares jumped 7.5% to about $181.40 in mid-day trading, although volume was 86% below the average session level.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: the stock has a consensus “Buy” rating and a $243.50 target price, despite one downgrade to “Hold” and a price-target reduction from Piper Sandler.
• AppFolio exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.71 in EPS and $281.12 million in revenue; revenue increased 19.3% year over year, while insiders sold $7.6 million of stock over the last quarter.

AppFolio, Inc. (NASDAQ:APPF - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 7.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $181.30 and last traded at $181.3990. 54,924 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 389,595 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.74.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APPF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Benchmark increased their price target on AppFolio from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. DA Davidson set a $225.00 price objective on AppFolio in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen cut AppFolio from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday. Guggenheim started coverage on AppFolio in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $232.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on AppFolio from $245.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AppFolio currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $243.50.

AppFolio Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average is $164.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.02. The stock has a market cap of $6.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.54 and a beta of 0.79.

AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The software maker reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $281.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $277.35 million. AppFolio had a return on equity of 32.42% and a net margin of 15.13%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that AppFolio, Inc. will post 5.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AppFolio

In other AppFolio news, CFO Timothy Mathias Eaton sold 2,585 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.07, for a total transaction of $413,780.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,887,022.52. The trade was a 12.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Maurice J. Duca sold 200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $36,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 81,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,666,400. This represents a 0.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 43,357 shares of company stock valued at $7,614,340. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppFolio

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AppFolio by 101.8% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 111 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its stake in shares of AppFolio by 827.8% in the 1st quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 167 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of AppFolio by 48.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 192 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of AppFolio in the 3rd quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of AppFolio during the third quarter worth $58,000. 85.19% of the stock is currently 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.

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