Morgan Stanley Is Waiting For Better Visibility At AppFolio
Morgan Stanley's Brian Essex downgraded AppFolio Inc (NASDAQ: APPF) from Overweight to Equal-Weight, while decreasing the price objective from $18.00 to $15.00. The analyst rating change came in response to AppFolio's FY2016Q1 earnings report slightly missing EPS consensus estimates at $(0.11) vs estimates of $(0.10).
Essex claims AppFolio's 1Q results "illustrated progress but lack of visibility remains a challenge." The Morgan Stanley analyst feared that due to reporting "a slightly lower resulting growth forecast" and ongoing "cash burn," the stock will remain under pressure.
Quality Over Quantity
"Focus on quality over higher growth has us adjusting revenue forecast slightly lower," Essex said. In addition, the analyst believes "investors will not yet award the stock a multiple that reflects better profitability," especially after recently missing earnings.
AppFolio was trading at $12.52, up 0.32 percent in Friday's pre-market session.
Latest Ratings for APPF
| Date | Firm | Action | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2022 | Stephens & Co. | Upgrades | Underweight | Equal-Weight |
| May 2021 | DA Davidson | Upgrades | Underperform | Neutral |
| Jan 2021 | Stephens & Co. | Initiates Coverage On | Underweight |
© 2025 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Posted-In: Brian EssexAnalyst Color Long Ideas Downgrades Price Target Analyst Ratings Tech Trading Ideas
