Bank of New York Mellon Corp Raises Holdings in AppLovin Corporation $APP

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,493,494 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 504,341 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.44% of AppLovin worth $1,073,135,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 0.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,902,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,267,410,000 after buying an additional 72,120 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of AppLovin by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,615,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,965,844,000 after acquiring an additional 133,402 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in AppLovin by 55.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,886,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,792,355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,381,970 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AppLovin in the 2nd quarter worth $951,541,000. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in AppLovin during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,456,108,000. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Dawson Alyssa Harvey sold 150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $693.32, for a total value of $103,998.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,829 shares in the company, valued at $1,961,402.28. The trade was a 5.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 7,609 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $657.13, for a total value of $5,000,102.17. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 277,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,097,294.30. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 340,336 shares of company stock valued at $200,062,623 in the last three months. 13.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AppLovin Stock Up 1.5%

APP opened at $543.56 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $635.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $565.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.97, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 2.50. AppLovin Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $200.50 and a fifty-two week high of $745.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 3.25 and a current ratio of 3.25.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.11. AppLovin had a return on equity of 258.49% and a net margin of 51.27%.The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 68.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that AppLovin Corporation will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting AppLovin

Here are the key news stories impacting AppLovin this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Needham upgraded APP to Buy with a $700 price target, citing an expected e‑commerce growth inflection in 2026; that upgrade has supported upside momentum. Needham Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst interest and high price targets (consensus near ~$700+) continue to underpin the stock despite recent volatility, keeping buy-side focus on long-term upside. Zacks Key Facts
• Positive Sentiment: Short‑term price reaction to the Needham upgrade was amplified in trading commentary — several outlets noted an intraday pop after the upgrade, reinforcing upside momentum. Schaeffers: Stock Pops
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparisons to other AI/automation names (e.g., UiPath) by some analysts highlight differing risk/reward profiles — useful context for investors assessing APP versus peers but not an immediate catalyst. Zacks: PATH vs APP
• Neutral Sentiment: A reported change in short‑interest data for January appears internally inconsistent (zeros/NaN) and currently offers no clear signal on positioning or squeeze risk.
• Negative Sentiment: CapitalWatch released a detailed short‑seller report alleging AppLovin facilitated illicit activity; while APP has strongly denied the claims and demanded a retraction, the report triggered renewed selling pressure and reputational risk. CNBC: CapitalWatch Report
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz announced an investigation into AppLovin shareholder claims, signaling potential class‑action litigation risk that can prolong volatility and increase legal uncertainty. GlobeNewsWire: Pomerantz Investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Previous reporting that the SEC has looked into AppLovin’s data practices remains a background risk; any regulatory developments would be material and could amplify negative moves. MarketBeat: SEC Probe Coverage

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on AppLovin from $750.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of AppLovin from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of AppLovin from $700.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $700.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $705.00 target price on shares of AppLovin and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AppLovin currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $706.45.

About AppLovin

AppLovin Corporation is a Palo Alto–based mobile technology company that provides software and services to help app developers grow and monetize their businesses. The company operates a data-driven advertising and marketing platform that connects app publishers and advertisers, delivering tools for user acquisition, monetization, analytics and creative optimization. AppLovin’s technology is integrated into a broad set of mobile applications through software development kits (SDKs) and ad products designed to maximize revenue and engagement for developers.

Key components of AppLovin’s offering include an ad mediation and exchange platform that enables publishers to manage and monetize inventory across multiple demand sources, and a user-acquisition platform that helps advertisers target and scale campaigns.