AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $314.03, but opened at $328.09. AppLovin shares last traded at $329.51, with a volume of 1,146,698 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on APP shares. Arete Research set a $200.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of AppLovin from $220.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of AppLovin from $325.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of AppLovin from $440.00 to $630.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of AppLovin from $450.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AppLovin currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $438.28.

AppLovin Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $353.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $276.60. The stock has a market cap of $113.70 billion, a PE ratio of 73.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a net margin of 33.54% and a return on equity of 188.55%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AppLovin

In other AppLovin news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $422.21, for a total transaction of $18,999,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 17,500 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.65, for a total transaction of $4,228,875.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 88,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,359,201.85. The trade was a 16.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 306,900 shares of company stock worth $106,401,841. 14.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in APP. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Riverview Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 1,640.0% during the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.