DA Davidson Downgrades Appian (NASDAQ:APPN) to Hold

Appian (NASDAQ:APPN) was downgraded by equities researchers at DA Davidson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Appian from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Appian from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.29.

Appian Trading Down 20.3 %

NASDAQ APPN opened at $29.43 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.02 and a beta of 1.48. Appian has a 52-week low of $26.28 and a 52-week high of $52.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $31.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Appian (NASDAQ:APPN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $149.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $149.78 million. Appian had a negative return on equity of 204.82% and a negative net margin of 19.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.42) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Appian will post -1.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Albert G.W. Biddle III purchased 3,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.02 per share, with a total value of $90,364.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $551,685.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, major shareholder Abdiel Capital Advisors, Lp bought 475,000 shares of Appian stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.94 per share, with a total value of $14,696,500.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 6,365,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,942,505.76. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Albert G.W. Biddle III purchased 3,225 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.02 per share, with a total value of $90,364.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 19,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $551,685.78. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 1,381,568 shares of company stock valued at $46,783,802 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 44.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Appian

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APPN. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Appian by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,081,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,008,000 after purchasing an additional 392,190 shares during the period. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Appian by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP now owns 1,859,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,043,000 after buying an additional 236,230 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Appian by 5.6% during the first quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 1,756,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,169,000 after acquiring an additional 93,251 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Appian by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,322,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,812,000 after acquiring an additional 317,411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in Appian by 70.7% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 474,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,922,000 after purchasing an additional 196,435 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.70% of the company’s stock.

Appian Company Profile

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.