AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Guggenheim

AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF) was upgraded by equities researchers at Guggenheim to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on APPF. Wall Street Zen raised AppFolio from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. UBS Group set a $210.00 price objective on shares of AppFolio in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of AppFolio from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of AppFolio from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of AppFolio in a report on Monday, July 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AppFolio has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $249.75.

AppFolio Trading Up 1.1%

AppFolio stock opened at $163.95 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.04 and a beta of 0.79. AppFolio has a 12 month low of $142.56 and a 12 month high of $326.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $164.49 and its 200-day moving average is $173.97.

AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The software maker reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $281.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $277.35 million. AppFolio had a return on equity of 32.35% and a net margin of 15.27%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AppFolio will post 5.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other AppFolio news, CFO Timothy Mathias Eaton sold 2,585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.07, for a total value of $413,780.95. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,887,022.52. This trade represents a 12.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO William Shane Trigg sold 3,584 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.50, for a total transaction of $546,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 76,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,673,417.50. The trade was a 4.47% 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 three months, insiders sold 30,657 shares of company stock valued at $5,310,740. Company insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AppFolio

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AppFolio by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,560,460 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $595,691,000 after buying an additional 101,466 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in AppFolio by 20.9% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,505,882 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $237,665,000 after buying an additional 259,933 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in AppFolio by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 685,656 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $159,518,000 after acquiring an additional 7,585 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in AppFolio by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 669,317 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $155,717,000 after acquiring an additional 98,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in AppFolio by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 638,241 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $148,487,000 after acquiring an additional 86,272 shares in the last quarter. 85.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.