Fred Alger Management LLC Reduces Holdings in AppFolio, Inc.

Fred Alger Management LLC has reduced its stake in AppFolio, Inc. (NASDAQ:APPF) by 48.5% during the third quarter, as reported in the company's latest Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund now holds 184,826 shares after divesting 174,057 shares during this period. As per its latest filing with the SEC, Fred Alger Management's ownership accounts for about 0.51% of AppFolio, valued at approximately $43,508,000.

Other institutional investors have also adjusted their investments in AppFolio. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake by 0.9% in the second quarter, acquiring an additional 49 shares to bring its total to 5,805 shares valued at $1,420,000. Blue Trust Inc. significantly boosted its position by 85.7% in the third quarter, now owning 117 shares worth $29,000 after purchasing 54 additional shares. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. raised its investment by 16.0% in the same quarter, owning now 725 shares valued at $171,000 after acquiring 100 more shares. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position by 2.9% in the second quarter, owning 3,630 shares valued at $888,000 post an additional purchase of 102 shares. CWM LLC also raised its stake in the second quarter, growing its holdings by 238.6% to own 149 shares valued at $36,000 after buying 105 shares. In total, institutional investors hold 62.34% of the stock.

Analysts' Opinions

Several analysts have commented on AppFolio's stock recently. StockNews.com downgraded the shares from a "buy" to a "hold" rating on August 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their rating from "market perform" to "underperform" and cut their price target from $255.00 to $193.00 on October 15th. KeyCorp also lowered its price target from $300.00 to $252.00 while maintaining an "overweight" rating on October 25th. Piper Sandler further decreased its price objective on the stock from $300.00 to $265.00, also giving it an "overweight" rating on the same date. Currently, one analyst rates the stock as a sell, one as a hold, and seven as a buy, leading to an average rating of "Moderate Buy" according to MarketBeat, with the average price target set at $261.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Maurice J. Duca sold 2,700 shares on September 20th at an average price of $234.05, netting a total of $631,935. Following the sale, he retains 14,716 shares valued at approximately $3,444,279.80, representing a 15.50% decrease in his ownership. This sale was reported to the SEC. Additionally, insider Matthew S. Mazza sold 926 shares on November 11th at an average price of $229.04, totaling $212,091.04. After this transaction, he holds 33,819 shares worth about $7,745,903.76, reflecting a 2.67% decrease in his position. In the past 90 days, insiders have sold 24,461 shares totaling $5,766,272. Corporate insiders collectively own 5.24% of the company’s stock.

AppFolio's Market Performance

As of Friday, shares of APPF opened at $254.82. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $224.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $231.25. With a market capitalization of $9.26 billion, AppFolio has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 70.98 and a beta of 0.83. The stock's 52-week range shows a low of $164.29 and a high of $274.56.

AppFolio recently announced its earnings for the quarter ending October 24th, reporting earnings per share (EPS) of $1.29, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.26. The company generated revenue of $206 million for the quarter, surpassing the expected $199.11 million. AppFolio achieved a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 30.64%. Year-over-year, the revenue increased by 24.5%. In the same quarter last year, the company reported an EPS of $0.26. Analysts anticipate that AppFolio will report an EPS of 3.23 for the current year.

About AppFolio, Inc.

AppFolio, Inc., including its subsidiaries, offers cloud-based business management solutions to the real estate industry across the United States. Its platform helps to automate common workflows, providing tools for leasing, maintenance, accounting, and other services from third-party technology providers.

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