AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Down 8.4% After Analyst Downgrade

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)’s stock price dropped 8.4% on Friday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $630.00 to $450.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. AppLovin traded as low as $239.00 and last traded at $241.75. Approximately 3,886,718 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 32% from the average daily volume of 5,720,114 shares. The stock had previously closed at $263.83.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $375.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark increased their price target on AppLovin from $375.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on AppLovin from $575.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. FBN Securities began coverage on AppLovin in a research report on Friday, March 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $385.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Friday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $424.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AppLovin news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 represents a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.65, for a total transaction of $64,930,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 621,209 shares in the company, valued at $201,675,501.85. This represents a 24.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 306,900 shares of company stock valued at $106,401,841 over the last 90 days. 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. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC grew its stake in AppLovin by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Bay Rivers Group grew its stake in shares of AppLovin by 73.6% during the first quarter. Bay Rivers Group now owns 2,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $570,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Group increased its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 38.5% during the first quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 2,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $541,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $194,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in AppLovin by 657.1% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 7,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,894,000 after purchasing an additional 6,203 shares in the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AppLovin Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70. The company has a market cap of $84.97 billion, a PE ratio of 55.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.39. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $327.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $293.41.

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

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.