First Trust Advisors LP Lowers Position in AppFolio, Inc. $APPF

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors reduced its AppFolio stake by 32.6% in the first quarter, selling 59,565 shares and retaining 123,026 shares worth about $19.4 million. Hedge funds and institutional investors still own approximately 85.2% of APPF.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $243.50 versus the reported share price of $186.99. However, Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock to “Hold,” and Piper Sandler lowered its target to $210.
• AppFolio’s latest quarterly results modestly beat expectations, with earnings of $1.71 per share and revenue of $281.1 million; revenue increased 19.3% year over year. Insiders have also sold shares recently, though the disclosed transactions were made under pre-arranged trading plans.

First Trust Advisors LP cut its position in shares of AppFolio, Inc. (NASDAQ:APPF - Free Report) by 32.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 123,026 shares of the software maker's stock after selling 59,565 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.35% of AppFolio worth $19,416,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APPF. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in AppFolio by 2.9% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 1,754 shares of the software maker's stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AppFolio by 101.8% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 111 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of AppFolio by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 1,263 shares of the software maker's stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position 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 worth $53,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC grew its holdings in AppFolio by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 5,162 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. 85.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on APPF shares. DA Davidson set a $225.00 target price on shares of AppFolio in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded AppFolio from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday. UBS Group set a $210.00 price target on shares of AppFolio in a report on Friday, April 24th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on AppFolio from $245.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of AppFolio from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $243.50.

AppFolio Stock Up 4.9%

Shares of APPF opened at $186.99 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $165.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $172.41. AppFolio, Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.56 and a 52 week high of $326.04. The stock has a market cap of $6.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.69 and a beta of 0.79.

AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The software maker reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $281.12 million for 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 quarterly revenue was up 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AppFolio, Inc. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Headlines Impacting AppFolio

Here are the key news stories impacting AppFolio this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded AppFolio to Rank #1 (Strong Buy), citing growing optimism around the company’s earnings prospects. The upgrade may be supporting renewed buying interest. AppFolio upgraded to Strong Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks also characterized APPF as a solid growth stock, pointing to growth attributes that could support attractive long-term returns. AppFolio’s latest quarterly results showed revenue growth of 19.3% year over year, with earnings and revenue modestly exceeding consensus estimates. AppFolio growth stock analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street’s average price target implies approximately 25.5% potential upside from recent levels. While price targets are not guarantees, analysts’ positive earnings-estimate revisions provide an additional bullish signal. AppFolio analyst price target
• Positive Sentiment: APPF recently moved above its 20-day moving average, suggesting improving short-term momentum and helping reinforce the bullish trading narrative. AppFolio technical breakout
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains broadly favorable, with a consensus “Buy” rating and several targets above the current market level. However, one research firm recently downgraded the stock to “Hold,” while Piper Sandler lowered its target, highlighting valuation and execution risks.
• Negative Sentiment: Major shareholder Maurice Duca disclosed sales totaling 12,500 shares for roughly $2.27 million across July 17 and July 20. The transactions were made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, which reduces their significance as a discretionary bearish signal, but insider selling can still weigh modestly on sentiment. AppFolio major shareholder share sales

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AppFolio news, major shareholder Maurice J. Duca sold 200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $36,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 81,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,666,400. This trade represents a 0.24% 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. Also, CFO Timothy Mathias Eaton sold 2,585 shares of AppFolio stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.07, for a total transaction of $413,780.95. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,036 shares in the company, valued at $2,887,022.52. This represents a 12.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 43,357 shares of company stock worth $7,614,340. 1.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AppFolio Company Profile

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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