AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Up 4.2% – What’s Next?

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) shares traded up 4.2% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $313.00 and last traded at $309.38. 2,924,442 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 44% from the average session volume of 5,202,317 shares. The stock had previously closed at $297.03.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Benchmark lifted their price target on AppLovin from $375.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on AppLovin from $325.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Macquarie lifted their price target on AppLovin from $270.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $538.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AppLovin currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $438.28.

AppLovin Trading Up 2.4 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $353.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $273.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.17, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.33. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a return on equity of 188.55% and a net margin of 33.54%. Equities research analysts anticipate that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $422.21, for a total value of $18,999,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,914,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,230,527,667.32. This trade represents a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.65, for a total value of $64,930,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 621,209 shares in the company, valued at $201,675,501.85. This represents a 24.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 306,900 shares of company stock valued at $106,401,841. 14.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AppLovin

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APP. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 75.5% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 13,851,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,485,409,000 after acquiring an additional 5,957,885 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth $1,781,922,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 8.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,388,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $703,406,000 after acquiring an additional 428,419 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,519,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,462,144,000 after acquiring an additional 573,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 5,421.4% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,084,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,322,682,000 after acquiring an additional 4,010,520 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Company Profile

AppLovin Corporation engages in building a software-based platform for advertisers to enhance the marketing and monetization of their content in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Software Platform and Apps. The company's software solutions include AppDiscovery, a marketing software solution, which matches advertiser demand with publisher supply through auctions; MAX, an in-app bidding software that optimizes the value of a publisher's advertising inventory by running a real-time competitive auction; Adjust, a measurement and analytics marketing platform that provides marketers with the visibility, insights, and tools needed to grow their apps from early stage to maturity; and Wurl, a connected TV platform, which distributes streaming video for content companies and provides advertising and publishing solutions through its AdPool, ContentDiscovery, and Global FAST Pass products.