AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded AppFolio from “hold” to “buy,” adding to a generally bullish analyst tone. Overall, nine analysts rate the stock a Buy, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $252.29.
• AppFolio’s most recent earnings beat expectations, posting $1.61 EPS versus the $1.47 estimate and revenue of $262.21 million, up 20.7% year over year. Analysts expect the company to earn 5.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Despite positive analyst sentiment, the stock has seen some insider selling and mixed institutional activity. CEO William Shane Trigg and major shareholder Maurice J. Duca both sold shares recently, while several institutional investors increased their positions.

AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Benchmark lifted their target price on AppFolio from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on AppFolio from $245.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group set a $210.00 price target on shares of AppFolio in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded AppFolio from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of AppFolio in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $252.29.

AppFolio Price Performance

Shares of APPF opened at $179.73 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.22. AppFolio has a 1-year low of $142.56 and a 1-year high of $326.04. The stock has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a PE ratio of 42.79 and a beta of 0.79.

AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The software maker reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $262.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $258.13 million. AppFolio had a net margin of 15.27% and a return on equity of 32.35%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AppFolio will post 5.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO William Shane Trigg sold 3,584 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.50, for a total value of $546,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 76,547 shares in the company, valued at $11,673,417.50. This trade represents a 4.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Maurice J. Duca sold 7,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.32, for a total transaction of $1,298,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 42,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,645,568. The trade was a 14.52% 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. Insiders sold a total of 30,657 shares of company stock valued at $5,310,740 in the last 90 days. 1.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APPF. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in AppFolio by 62.9% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 10,880 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,745,000 after buying an additional 4,200 shares in the last quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in AppFolio by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,879 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of AppFolio during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,095,000. Evanson Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AppFolio during the second quarter worth about $962,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of AppFolio by 74.5% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 834 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. 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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