AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Stock Price Up 4% on Analyst Upgrade

AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) was up 4% during trading on Thursday after Scotiabank raised their price target on the stock from $450.00 to $575.00. Scotiabank currently has a sector outperform rating on the stock. AppLovin traded as high as $480.78 and last traded at $481.58. Approximately 1,713,296 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 7,011,069 shares. The stock had previously closed at $462.94.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $620.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $525.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price 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. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price (down from $560.00) on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $478.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Eduardo Vivas sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.00, for a total transaction of $58,250,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,283,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,394,014,072. This trade represents a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.69, for a total transaction of $92,938,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 381,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,478,587.01. This trade represents a 34.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,236,152 shares of company stock valued at $545,240,378. 13.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin during the second quarter worth $26,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in AppLovin during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in AppLovin during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01. The stock has a market cap of $163.63 billion, a PE ratio of 68.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 2.43. The company’s 50 day moving average is $384.32 and its 200-day moving average is $347.60.

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