AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Trading 3.8% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) shares shot up 3.8% on Friday after Scotiabank raised their price target on the stock from $430.00 to $450.00. Scotiabank currently has a sector outperform rating on the stock. AppLovin traded as high as $463.79 and last traded at $454.03. 3,861,948 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 46% from the average session volume of 7,189,654 shares. The stock had previously closed at $437.34.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on APP. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of AppLovin from $460.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $620.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday. HSBC set a $436.00 price target on shares of AppLovin and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of AppLovin from $405.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of AppLovin from $460.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AppLovin presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $472.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $419.91, for a total transaction of $41,991,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 181,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,393,806.39. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 34,766 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.64, for a total transaction of $12,294,648.24. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 70,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,069,185.96. This represents a 32.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,212,968 shares of company stock valued at $455,062,980. 13.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in shares of AppLovin by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc boosted its position in AppLovin by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 4,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,088,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in AppLovin by 0.4% during the second quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,689,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in AppLovin by 32.7% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 138 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSG Advisors LLC boosted its position in AppLovin by 0.3% during the first quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 10,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,820,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AppLovin Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $366.78 and its 200-day moving average is $340.06. The stock has a market cap of $154.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 2.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 1.68.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. AppLovin had a net margin of 45.72% and a return on equity of 252.67%. AppLovin’s revenue for the quarter was up 77.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. Analysts anticipate that AppLovin Corporation will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.