AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF) Shares Cross Above 50 Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• AppFolio shares crossed above their 50-day moving average, reaching $214.00 before closing at $206.27; the stock’s 50-day and 200-day averages were $202.54 and $177.01, respectively.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $246.62. KeyCorp raised its target to $280, while Guggenheim initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $232 target.
• AppFolio exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.71 in EPS and $281.12 million in revenue, with revenue up 19.3% year over year. Institutional investors own 85.19% of the company, although insiders sold more than $34 million in shares during the latest quarter.

AppFolio, Inc. (NASDAQ:APPF - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $202.54 and traded as high as $214.00. AppFolio shares last traded at $206.27, with a volume of 336,308 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on APPF. Weiss Ratings raised shares of AppFolio from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of AppFolio from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of AppFolio from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded AppFolio from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 26th. Finally, Guggenheim assumed coverage on AppFolio in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $232.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AppFolio has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $246.62.

AppFolio Trading Down 1.7%

The stock's 50 day moving average price is $202.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.01. The company has a market cap of $7.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.09 and a beta of 0.85.

AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The software maker reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.02. AppFolio had a net margin of 15.13% and a return on equity of 32.42%. The business had revenue of $281.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $277.35 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that AppFolio, Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AppFolio

In other news, major shareholder Maurice Duca sold 7,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.72, for a total transaction of $1,308,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 34,198 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,214,460.56. The trade was a 17.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 176,217 shares of company stock valued at $34,157,323. 1.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of AppFolio by 20.9% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,505,882 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $237,665,000 after acquiring an additional 259,933 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of AppFolio during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,063,000. Lead Edge Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in AppFolio during the 1st quarter worth $33,183,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in AppFolio during the 2nd quarter worth $23,524,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AppFolio during the 4th quarter worth $22,794,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.19% of the company's stock.

About AppFolio

AppFolio, Inc provides cloud-based software and technology solutions for the real estate industry. Its platform is designed to help property managers and real estate businesses manage core operations, including accounting, leasing, maintenance, communications, payments, reporting and resident services.

The company's AppFolio Property Manager platform serves a range of property types, including residential, commercial, student housing and community associations. AppFolio also offers solutions for real estate investment management, along with workflow automation, data and reporting tools, online payment processing and other services intended to help customers operate more efficiently and improve the experience for owners, residents and tenants.

AppFolio was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Santa Barbara, California.

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