AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Down 0.7% After Insider Selling

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)’s stock price traded down 0.7% on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $359.26 and last traded at $363.95. 1,756,956 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 6,004,828 shares. The stock had previously closed at $366.61.

Specifically, Director Dawson Alyssa Harvey sold 570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $371.12, for a total value of $211,538.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,312,448.72. This represents a 8.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 28,580 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.84, for a total transaction of $10,455,707.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 171,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,712,292.80. This represents a 14.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In related news, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $372.65, for a total transaction of $74,530,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 221,209 shares in the company, valued at $82,433,533.85. This represents a 47.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on APP shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of AppLovin from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of AppLovin from $386.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Monday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of AppLovin from $335.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Arete Research set a $200.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $433.85.

AppLovin Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $285.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $317.47. 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 market cap of $123.18 billion, a PE ratio of 79.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.39.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.22. AppLovin had a net margin of 33.54% and a return on equity of 188.55%. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APP. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in AppLovin by 92.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 318,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,643,000 after acquiring an additional 153,248 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC purchased a new position in AppLovin during the 4th quarter valued at about $323,000. Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new position in AppLovin during the 4th quarter valued at about $290,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth about $1,312,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 14,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,646,000 after buying an additional 622 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.