Appian (NASDAQ:APPN) Reaches New 1-Year High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Appian Corporation (NASDAQ:APPN) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $58.00 and last traded at $55.2730, with a volume of 39,424 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $49.82.

The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.18. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 25.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Appian from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 17th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Appian from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Appian from $30.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings raised Appian from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Appian from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. One research 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $36.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Appian

In related news, CEO Matthew Calkins sold 45,000 shares of Appian stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.50, for a total transaction of $1,687,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,584,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,405,400. This trade represents a 2.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 42.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Appian

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of APPN. RPD Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Appian in the first quarter worth about $94,496,000. Lead Edge Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Appian by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. Lead Edge Capital Management LLC now owns 1,905,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,945,000 after purchasing an additional 296,845 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Appian by 16.5% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,519,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,639,000 after purchasing an additional 215,183 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Appian by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,355,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,692,000 after buying an additional 196,021 shares during the period. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Appian during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,407,000. 52.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Appian Trading Up 6.7%

The stock has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of -356.52 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $41.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.30.

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.