Why Wall Street Still Thinks Appian Stock Can Gain 50% from Here

• Appian (APPN) exhibits robust price momentum, recently hitting a new 3-year high.
• Shares are up nearly 40% over the past year.
• Technical indicators are overwhelmingly bullish, with a 100% “Buy” opinion from Barchart.
• Despite overvaluation concerns, analyst price targets go as high as $75. 

Today’s Featured Stock

Valued at $3.87 billion, Appian (APPN) provides a low-code software development platform which enables organizations to develop various applications.  

What I’m Watching

I found today’s Chart of the Day by using Barchart’s powerful screening functions to sort for stocks with the highest technical buy signals and superior current momentum. I then used Barchart’s Flipcharts feature to review the charts for consistent price appreciation. APPN checks those boxes. The Trend Seeker issued a new “Buy” signal on Sept. 14. Since that signal, APPN is up 37.08%.

Barchart’s Technical Indicators for Appian

Editor’s Note: The technical indicators below are updated live during the session every 20 minutes and can therefore change each day as the market fluctuates. The indicator numbers shown below therefore may not match what you see live on the Barchart.com website when you read this report. These technical indicators form the Barchart Opinion on a particular stock.

Appian hit a 3-year high of $56.38 on Nov. 5.

• Appian has a Weighted Alpha of 45.47.
• APPN has a 100% “Buy” opinion from Barchart.
• The stock has gained 36.9% over the past 52 weeks.
• Appian has its Trend Seeker “Buy” signal intact.
• The stock recently traded at $51.04 with a 50-day moving average of $41.54.
• APPN had 11 highs and gained 40.98% in the last month.
• 60-month beta of 0.84.
• Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 62.30.
• There’s a technical support level around $51.41.

Don’t Forget the Fundamentals

• $3.87 billion market capitalization.
• 166.07x trailing price-earnings ratio.
• Revenue is expected to grow 16.91% this year and another 10.81% next year.
• Earnings are estimated to increase 77.52% this year and an additional 31.33% next year.

Analyst and Investor Sentiment on Appian

• Wall Street analysts followed by Barchart give the stock 1 “Strong Buy,” 6 “Hold” and 1 “Strong Sell” opinion with price targets from $30 to $50.
• Value Line rates the stock “Highest” with price targets between $45 and $75.
• Morningstar thinks the stock is 14% overvalued with a fair value of $43.55.
• CFRA’s Market Scope rates the stock a “Hold” but has a price target of $39.
• 27,380 investors are following the stock on Seeking Alpha, which rates it a “Hold.”
• TipRanks’ analysts have a consensus price target of $37.20.
• Short interest is 6.38% of the float with 5.62 days to cover.

The Bottom Line on Appian

The company demonstrates outstanding growth and strong stock momentum but is significantly overvalued compared to its sector peers and maintains mixed profitability.  I tend to agree with Value Line’s analyst Collin Cicconi: “Despite the share-price surge, the equity still offers worthwhile appreciation potential over the 3 to 5 years ahead.” 

On the date of publication, Jim Van Meerten did not directly have a position in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.