AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Down 8.3% on Insider Selling

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)’s stock price dropped 8.3% during trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $367.12 and last traded at $376.54. Approximately 4,871,838 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 9% from the average daily volume of 5,377,460 shares. The stock had previously closed at $410.45.

Specifically, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $422.21, for a total value of $18,999,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,914,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,230,527,667.32. This represents a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 44,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.89, for a total value of $18,243,516.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,869,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,179,045,567.88. This trade represents a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on APP shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Macquarie lifted their target price on AppLovin from $270.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on AppLovin from $250.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Daiwa America upgraded AppLovin from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their target price on AppLovin from $450.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $442.18.

AppLovin Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.30. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $367.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $250.18.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a net margin of 33.54% and a return on equity of 188.55%. As a group, analysts predict that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of AppLovin

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of AppLovin during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of AppLovin during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of AppLovin during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of AppLovin during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co raised its stake in shares of AppLovin by 1,640.0% during the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.