AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $272.38, but opened at $255.93. AppLovin shares last traded at $256.21, with a volume of 2,239,437 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on APP shares. FBN Securities started coverage on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Friday, March 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $385.00 price target for the company. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $375.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on AppLovin from $325.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on AppLovin from $250.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on AppLovin from $375.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $435.47.

AppLovin Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $96.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.27, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 2.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $349.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $286.70.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts expect that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AppLovin

In other news, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.65, for a total transaction of $64,930,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 621,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $201,675,501.85. The trade was a 24.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 44,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.89, for a total value of $18,243,516.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,869,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,179,045,567.88. This trade represents a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 306,900 shares of company stock worth $106,401,841. 14.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in AppLovin during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Riverview Trust Co lifted its position in shares of AppLovin by 1,640.0% in the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management boosted its position 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 acquiring 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.