Short Interest in AppFolio, Inc. (NASDAQ:APPF) Grows By 24.3%

AppFolio, Inc. (NASDAQ:APPF) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,240,000 shares, an increase of 24.3% from the March 15th total of 997,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 321,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days. Currently, 3.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on APPF shares. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of AppFolio in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $295.00 price target on shares of AppFolio in a research report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp lowered AppFolio from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating and set a $253.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, January 10th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of AppFolio from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AppFolio in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $272.71.

AppFolio Price Performance

Shares of AppFolio stock opened at $218.78 on Monday. AppFolio has a 1 year low of $189.01 and a 1 year high of $274.56. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $217.92 and its 200 day moving average is $231.26. The stock has a market cap of $7.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.42 and a beta of 0.86.

AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The software maker reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.34). AppFolio had a net margin of 25.69% and a return on equity of 26.21%. On average, equities analysts expect that AppFolio will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AppFolio

In other news, insider Matthew S. Mazza sold 838 shares of AppFolio stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.30, for a total transaction of $213,941.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,701 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,795,565.30. This trade represents a 3.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William Shane Trigg sold 3,501 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.27, for a total value of $760,662.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 83,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,212,440.48. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AppFolio

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in AppFolio by 881.2% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 597,485 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $147,411,000 after purchasing an additional 536,591 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in AppFolio in the 4th quarter worth $103,503,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AppFolio during the fourth quarter worth about $68,037,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its stake in AppFolio by 82.2% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 459,285 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $108,116,000 after acquiring an additional 207,204 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in AppFolio by 43.2% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 655,625 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $161,756,000 after purchasing an additional 197,700 shares during the last quarter. 85.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.