AppFolio Looks Bright After Q4 Earnings: Should You Hold?

AppFolio, Inc. (NASDAQ:APPF) has been a favorite with investors, courtesy of its rising share price and strong fundamentals. Its shares have gained 58.2% over a year, outperforming the industry’s 38% rally.

Let’s delve deeper and take a look at some of the aspects aiding the company’s performance.

Key Drivers

AppFolio reported fourth-quarter 2017 adjusted earnings of 12 cents per share as compared with in-line earnings in the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at 9 cents per share.

The company ended the quarter with roughly 11,700 property managers, up from approximately 10,000 customers in the year-ago period. Legal customer count was 9,350, recording growth of 15% year over year.

Notably, the company upgraded product suite during the fourth quarter with enhancements, including AppFolio Renters Insurance, new Value+ Service and same day ACH, an addition to the existing Electronic Payments Value+ Platform. During the quarter, Value + services revenues were $20.8 million, up 42% year over year.

AppFolio’s constant focus on product and technology-related innovations are key catalysts for growth. The company continuously upgrades product-suite based on customer feedback, making the offerings more consumer friendly.

The company also announced that it is looking forward to its integration with Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) voice service, Alexa. This feature will allow tenants to pay rents or submit other requests, using voice commands through AppFolio’s platform. We believe the company’s collaboration with Amazon, along with expansion of offerings will boost the top line.

Upward Estimate Revision

Over the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AppFolio has moved 33.3% upward for the current quarter to 12 cents and 34.8% to 62 cents for fiscal 2018.

The positive earnings estimate revision indicates upbeat sentiments for this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock.

Its projected EPS growth rates for fiscals 2018 and 2019 are pegged at 37.8% and 48.4%, respectively.

Positive Earnings Surprise History

AppFolio has an impressive earnings surprise history. The company outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the trailing four quarters, recording a positive average earnings surprise of 221.4%.

Key Picks

A few better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector are NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Paycom Software, Inc. (NYSE:PAYC) , both sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

NVIDIA and Paycom Software have long-term earnings per share growth rate of 10.3% and 25.8%, respectively.

The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of All

Last year, it generated $8 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $47 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.

See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >>