AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Stock Price Down 19.7% After Analyst Downgrade

AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) shares were down 19.7% on Thursday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $820.00 to $710.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. AppLovin traded as low as $365.01 and last traded at $366.91. Approximately 18,674,361 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 168% from the average daily volume of 6,962,683 shares. The stock had previously closed at $456.81.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on APP. Weiss Ratings cut shares of AppLovin from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Wedbush upped their price objective on AppLovin from $465.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group set a $740.00 target price on AppLovin in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $705.00 price target on AppLovin and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised AppLovin from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $651.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AppLovin news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 277,110 shares in the company, valued at $182,097,294.30. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 27,143 shares of AppLovin 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 sale, the chief technology officer owned 3,323,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,812,669,143.78. The trade was a 0.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 187,786 shares of company stock valued at $100,914,925. 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 Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in AppLovin by 61.9% in 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 last quarter. Laurel Oak Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $352,000. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 6.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC increased its position in AppLovin by 6,900.0% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management raised its stake in AppLovin by 1,604.0% during the fourth quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 1,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $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.

AppLovin Stock Down 19.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $124.00 billion, a PE ratio of 37.63, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 2.49. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $602.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $570.18. The company has a current ratio of 3.25, a quick ratio of 3.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.35. AppLovin had a net margin of 57.42% and a return on equity of 306.49%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.73 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 66.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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.