Appian (NASDAQ:APPN) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Appian Co. (NASDAQ:APPN)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $32.04, but opened at $38.11. Appian shares last traded at $37.26, with a volume of 501,794 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Appian in a report on Monday, January 6th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Appian in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Appian from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.17.

Appian Trading Down 3.7 %

The stock has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of -26.46 and a beta of 1.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.06.

Appian (NASDAQ:APPN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.11). Appian had a negative return on equity of 532.05% and a negative net margin of 14.95%. The firm had revenue of $166.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.06 EPS. Appian’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Appian Co. will post -0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William D. Mccarthy sold 700 shares of Appian stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.78, for a total transaction of $27,146.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $308,921.48. This trade represents a 8.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 44.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Appian

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in APPN. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Appian by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 87,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,897,000 after acquiring an additional 7,594 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Appian by 222.6% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 182,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,034,000 after purchasing an additional 126,256 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in Appian by 60.5% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 25,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $843,000 after purchasing an additional 9,630 shares in the last quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP purchased a new stake in Appian during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,403,000. Finally, Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Appian during the 4th quarter valued at about $320,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.70% of the company’s stock.

About Appian

Appian Corporation, a software company that provides low-code design platform in the United States, Mexico, Portugal, and internationally. The company's platform offers artificial intelligence, process automation, data fabric, and process mining. It provides The Appian Platform, an integrated automation platform that enables organizations to design, automate, and optimize mission-critical business processes.