AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Given “Overweight” Rating at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler restated their overweight rating on shares of AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) in a report published on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $650.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $800.00.

APP has been the topic of a number of other reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $850.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. BTIG Research dropped their price target on shares of AppLovin from $771.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley set a $720.00 price objective on AppLovin in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on AppLovin from $710.00 to $585.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded AppLovin from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AppLovin currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $651.77.

AppLovin Trading Down 19.7%

Shares of AppLovin stock opened at $366.91 on Thursday. 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 has a 52 week low of $200.50 and a 52 week high of $745.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $602.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $570.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.00 billion, a PE ratio of 37.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 2.49.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.35. AppLovin had a return on equity of 306.49% and a net margin of 57.42%.The company had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.73 EPS. AppLovin’s quarterly revenue was up 66.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AppLovin will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AppLovin

In other news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 27,143 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $545.38, for a total transaction of $14,803,249.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 3,323,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,812,669,143.78. This represents a 0.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 30,888 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $520.29, for a total transaction of $16,070,717.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,553,161 shares in the company, valued at $1,328,384,136.69. This trade represents a 1.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 187,786 shares of company stock worth $100,914,925 over the last three months. 13.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AppLovin by 61.9% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,906,000 after acquiring an additional 1,082 shares during the period. Laurel Oak Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AppLovin during the fourth quarter valued at about $352,000. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its holdings in AppLovin by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,371,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC boosted its position in AppLovin by 6,900.0% during the fourth quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 70 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management increased its stake in shares of AppLovin by 1,604.0% in the fourth quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 1,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,148,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting AppLovin

Here are the key news stories impacting AppLovin this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat on EPS and revenue, with strong margins and raised 2026 revenue guidance — underlying operating metrics were robust. AppLovin press release
• Positive Sentiment: Several sell-side firms reaffirmed or raised targets (Scotiabank raised to $775; Wedbush boosted to $640; Needham and RBC reaffirmed buy/outperform), signaling continued analyst confidence in medium/long-term growth. Scotiabank raise (The Fly)
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish commentary argues the sell-off is an overreaction — analysts and commentators point to high margins, strong free cash flow and buybacks as reasons long-term holders should be constructive. Seeking Alpha bullish take
• Neutral Sentiment: Some firms trimmed price targets (BTIG, Wells Fargo, Piper Sandler, Citi lowered/tweaked targets) but largely kept buy/overweight ratings — mixed signals on near-term upside while conviction remains among many analysts. Analyst moves roundup
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data published in the period appears erroneous (0 shares / NaN changes) — no reliable signal of a short squeeze or coordinated short activity from the reported figures.
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the beat, shares plunged as investors flagged AI-related risk, competitive pressure in ad markets and perceived lack of clarity in management’s commentary/guidance — headlines emphasize “AI fears” and “guidance clarity” as the proximate causes of the sell-off. 247WallStreet coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Reports flagged softer-than-expected ad demand and competitive headwinds in ad tech, which weighed on investor confidence despite strong headline numbers. Reuters report

AppLovin Company Profile

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.