Traders Buy High Volume of AppLovin Call Options (NASDAQ:APP)

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 25,179 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 12% compared to the typical volume of 22,439 call options.

AppLovin Stock Performance

Shares of AppLovin stock opened at $366.55 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $206.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.10. The company has a market cap of $123.01 billion, a PE ratio of 111.08, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 2.28. AppLovin has a one year low of $35.79 and a one year high of $372.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 2.41.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. AppLovin had a net margin of 26.85% and a return on equity of 122.24%. The company’s revenue was up 38.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AppLovin will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on APP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of AppLovin from $252.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Loop Capital upped their price target on AppLovin from $181.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on AppLovin from $260.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on AppLovin from $270.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $265.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Matthew Stumpf sold 21,101 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.67, for a total value of $7,019,669.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 213,336 shares in the company, valued at $70,970,487.12. The trade was a 9.00 % 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, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 593,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.37, for a total value of $189,574,199.56. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 3,919,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,251,618,694.88. The trade was a 13.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 914,895 shares of company stock worth $253,462,174. Company insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AppLovin

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in AppLovin during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in AppLovin during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in AppLovin in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Company Profile

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.