Appian (NASDAQ:APPN) Reaches New 52-Week High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Key Points

• Appian shares reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $58, after the company reported quarterly EPS of $0.51, beating the $0.33 consensus estimate.
• Quarterly revenue was $234.63 million, above analyst expectations of $216.94 million and up 25.5% year over year; the company nevertheless reported a 1.34% net loss margin.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious despite some price-target increases: MarketBeat reported a consensus “Reduce” rating and a $36.50 target price.

Appian Corporation (NASDAQ:APPN - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $58.00 and last traded at $55.2730, with a volume of 39,424 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.82.

The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $234.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.94 million. Appian had a negative net margin of 1.34% and a negative return on equity of 35.20%. Appian's revenue for the quarter was up 25.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Appian from $30.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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 upped their price target on Appian from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Appian from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Appian from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Appian presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $36.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Appian news, CEO Matthew Calkins sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.50, for a total transaction of $1,687,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,584,144 shares in the company, valued at $59,405,400. This represents a 2.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 42.81% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Appian

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Appian by 35.5% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,108 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV purchased a new position in Appian during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in Appian by 820.0% during the third quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,288 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 1,148 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Appian by 15.0% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,678 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Appian in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $63,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.70% of the company's stock.

Appian Trading Up 6.7%

The stock's fifty day moving average is $41.03 and its 200 day moving average is $29.30. The company has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -356.52 and a beta of 0.84.

Appian Company Profile

Appian Corporation NASDAQ: APPN develops and provides a low-code platform designed to help organizations build, manage and automate business applications and processes. Its platform combines process orchestration, workflow automation, artificial intelligence, robotic process automation, case management and data management capabilities in a unified environment.

Appian's software is used to improve operational efficiency, connect data and systems, and support applications such as customer service, compliance, supply chain management and government services.

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