AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Up 7.3% on Analyst Upgrade

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)’s stock price traded up 7.3% during trading on Wednesday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $315.00 to $440.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. AppLovin traded as high as $371.77 and last traded at $363.12. 1,793,150 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 3,995,984 shares. The stock had previously closed at $338.39.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Daiwa Capital Markets raised AppLovin from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $270.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $360.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their target price on AppLovin from $385.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $355.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Katie Kihorany Jansen sold 59,876 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.14, for a total transaction of $17,132,918.64. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 1,017,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $291,115,402.32. This represents a 5.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 1,676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.39, for a total value of $597,309.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,058,635 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,090,066,927.65. This trade represents a 0.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 888,867 shares of company stock worth $284,773,062 over the last ninety days. 14.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AppLovin

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of AppLovin by 172.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 98 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in AppLovin by 139.1% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AppLovin Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 2.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 109.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 2.29. The business has a fifty day moving average of $334.41 and a 200-day moving average of $194.53.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. AppLovin had a return on equity of 122.24% and a net margin of 26.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AppLovin Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About AppLovin

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.