After Roller-Coaster Ride, Where Does Appian Stock Go Now?

Appian (NASDAQ: APPN) investors may be feeling disoriented these days.

Since the beginning of November, the stock price has more than tripled, helped by a strong third-quarter earnings report, a possible short squeeze, and a broader rally in growth stocks. However, as investors started rotating out of growth stocks in February, Appian share prices have pulled back sharply, giving back nearly all of those gains.

Investors are struggling to definitively value the cloud-based maker of low-code software, and the stock sold off last week following its first-quarter earnings report. Total revenue rose 12.7% to $88.9 million, well ahead of the analyst consensus at $82.7 million, and cloud subscription revenue, the company's biggest priority, rose 38% to $39.1 million. Its adjusted loss per share narrowed from $0.12 to $0.06, which beat the consensus at a loss of $0.14 a share. Still, the stock sold off on revenue guidance for the second quarter. The company forecast $77 million to $78 million, or 15% to 17% growth, which was below estimates at $84.1 million, and it projected a wider bottom-line loss than expected.

Source Fool.com