AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $820.00 to $710.00. The stock had previously closed at $456.81, but opened at $404.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. AppLovin shares last traded at $383.1830, with a volume of 5,688,573 shares changing hands.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on APP. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of AppLovin from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group set a $740.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on AppLovin from $710.00 to $585.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $651.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at AppLovin

In other AppLovin news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 7,609 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 277,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,097,294.30. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Dawson Alyssa Harvey sold 150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $693.32, for a total value of $103,998.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,961,402.28. The trade was a 5.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 187,786 shares of company stock valued at $100,914,925 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.66% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin News Roundup

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AppLovin

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of APP. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in AppLovin during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in AppLovin by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 760.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 43 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AppLovin Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 3.25 and a current ratio of 3.25. The company has a market cap of $124.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.63, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 2.49. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $602.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $570.18.

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

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.