AppFolio, Inc. (NASDAQ:APPF) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

AppFolio, Inc. (NASDAQ:APPF) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 753,800 shares, a decline of 29.6% from the June 30th total of 1,070,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 290,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

AppFolio Stock Performance

Shares of APPF opened at $230.95 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.36 billion, a PE ratio of 111.57 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $242.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $230.78. AppFolio has a twelve month low of $164.29 and a twelve month high of $274.56.

AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software maker reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $187.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $173.66 million. AppFolio had a net margin of 17.32% and a return on equity of 29.03%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AppFolio will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Maurice J. Duca sold 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.65, for a total transaction of $597,090.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 52,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,033,660. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other AppFolio news, major shareholder Maurice J. Duca sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.65, for a total transaction of $597,090.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 52,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,033,660. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Timothy K. Bliss sold 12,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.31, for a total transaction of $2,936,742.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 130,444 shares of company stock worth $31,124,559 in the last three months. 9.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppFolio

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AppFolio during the 4th quarter worth about $38,458,000. Zeno Equity Partners LLP bought a new stake in AppFolio during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,434,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in AppFolio by 2,359.8% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 151,646 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $37,417,000 after purchasing an additional 145,481 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of AppFolio by 344.7% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 155,127 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $38,276,000 after purchasing an additional 120,246 shares during the period. Finally, Westwind Capital lifted its stake in shares of AppFolio by 301.0% in the second quarter. Westwind Capital now owns 149,240 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $3,650,000 after buying an additional 112,024 shares during the last quarter. 62.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APPF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of AppFolio from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on AppFolio from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on AppFolio from $260.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of AppFolio from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of AppFolio from $215.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.75.

About AppFolio

AppFolio, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides cloud business management solutions for the real estate industry in the United States. The company provides a cloud-based platform that enables users to automate and optimize common workflows; tools that assist with leasing, maintenance, and accounting; and other technology and services offered by third parties.