AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Trading 6.3% Higher – Should You Buy?

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)’s stock price shot up 6.3% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $338.74 and last traded at $333.75. 3,143,534 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 7,590,653 shares. The stock had previously closed at $314.03.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on APP shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $560.00 target price (up previously from $480.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on AppLovin from $250.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Benchmark increased their target price on AppLovin from $375.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on AppLovin from $440.00 to $630.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of AppLovin from $325.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $438.28.

AppLovin Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $117.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.28, a P/E/G 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. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $354.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $280.21.

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

Insider Transactions at AppLovin

In related news, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 621,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,675,501.85. This represents a 24.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 44,400 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.89, for a total transaction of $18,243,516.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,869,492 shares in the company, valued at $1,179,045,567.88. This represents a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 306,900 shares of company stock worth $106,401,841 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its stake in AppLovin by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 19,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,594,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 89.7% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 681 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 25.8% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $428,000 after buying an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AppLovin by 2.2% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 2,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in AppLovin by 36.3% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 18,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,366,000 after acquiring an additional 4,822 shares in the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AppLovin

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.