What happened
Shares of Appian (APPN -0.22%) rose 34.8% last month, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The company's share price gains came after two analysts raised their price targets for the stock.
So what
The first price target increase came from Needham analyst Jack Andrews, who raised Appian's price target to $193 up from the previous $94. Andrews had already issued a buy rating for Appian and maintained that recommendation.
Andrews' optimism is fueled by his belief that the low-code app development market is still in its early stages and that many companies will tap into this tech trend to help them complete their software development projects.
Appian share price got a boost from that positive note and then continued climbing when Morgan Stanley analyst Sanjit Singh raised his price target for the company's stock to $100 from $80. Although Singh raised his price target, the analyst still remains bearish on Appian overall.
Investors, on the other hand, took both analysts' notes positively and pushed the tech stock up significantly during the month.
Now what
Appian's fourth-quarter results will be released on Feb. 18. Management says revenue will be between $73 million and $74 million and adjusted net loss per share will be $0.16 to $0.18. That's pretty much in line with analysts' consensus estimate for the company of $74 million in sales and an adjusted net loss of $0.17 per share.
Investors have continued their optimism into February and have pushed up the company's share price 8.5% so far this month.