AppFolio, Inc. (NASDAQ:APPF) Short Interest Up 17.3% in March

AppFolio, Inc. (NASDAQ:APPF) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 756,100 shares, a growth of 17.3% from the March 15th total of 644,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 323,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

AppFolio Stock Performance

NASDAQ:APPF traded down $5.73 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $215.70. 176,183 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 312,175. The firm has a market cap of $7.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 7,192.40 and a beta of 0.80. AppFolio has a twelve month low of $123.36 and a twelve month high of $253.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $232.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $203.34.

AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The software maker reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.29. AppFolio had a negative return on equity of 8.58% and a net margin of 0.44%. The firm had revenue of $171.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $162.80 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that AppFolio will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $241.00 target price on shares of AppFolio in a research report on Friday, January 26th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on AppFolio in a research report on Friday, January 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on AppFolio from $228.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on AppFolio from $254.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered AppFolio from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AppFolio presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AppFolio news, Director Olivia Nottebohm sold 989 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.75, for a total transaction of $239,090.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $461,500.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Timothy K. Bliss sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.24, for a total value of $2,272,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 51,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,605,146.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Olivia Nottebohm sold 989 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.75, for a total value of $239,090.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $461,500.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,489 shares of company stock worth $3,531,011. 9.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in AppFolio by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,078,661 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $360,107,000 after purchasing an additional 76,934 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in AppFolio by 2.9% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,524,173 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $262,371,000 after purchasing an additional 42,573 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC grew its stake in AppFolio by 12.2% in the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 572,007 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $104,466,000 after purchasing an additional 62,347 shares in the last quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC grew its stake in AppFolio by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC now owns 421,309 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $72,988,000 after purchasing an additional 15,283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in AppFolio by 0.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 415,745 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $71,566,000 after purchasing an additional 3,010 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.34% of the company’s stock.

AppFolio Company Profile

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.