AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Sets New 12-Month High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $85.40 and last traded at $83.33, with a volume of 2333738 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.00.

The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. AppLovin had a return on equity of 24.69% and a net margin of 10.84%. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $973.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.01) EPS. AppLovin’s revenue for the quarter was up 47.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $85.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their target price on AppLovin from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Daiwa Capital Markets initiated coverage on AppLovin in a report on Monday, April 15th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on AppLovin from $73.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TheStreet upgraded AppLovin from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.01, for a total value of $3,750,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 471,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,371,715.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.01, for a total value of $3,750,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 471,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,371,715.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Matthew Stumpf sold 2,775 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.30, for a total value of $175,657.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 362,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,931,311.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 61,215 shares of company stock worth $4,416,815 in the last ninety days. 14.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of APP. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in AppLovin in the third quarter worth approximately $237,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of AppLovin by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 709,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,337,000 after acquiring an additional 34,067 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in AppLovin by 23.7% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 30,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 5,807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in AppLovin during the third quarter worth approximately $768,000. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AppLovin Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $27.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.20.

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.