AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $180.00 to $260.00. The stock had previously closed at $168.55, but opened at $230.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. AppLovin shares last traded at $249.29, with a volume of 5,208,085 shares traded.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on APP. Benchmark restated a “sell” rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday. Macquarie boosted their price objective on AppLovin from $150.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. BTIG Research upped their target price on AppLovin from $202.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday. Finally, Loop Capital began coverage on AppLovin in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $181.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dawson Alyssa Harvey sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.90, for a total transaction of $131,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,247 shares in the company, valued at $900,711.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.04, for a total value of $473,220.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 4,536,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $390,315,899.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Dawson Alyssa Harvey sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.90, for a total value of $131,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,711.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 610,094 shares of company stock valued at $51,022,478. Corporate insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AppLovin

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of APP. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of AppLovin by 167.0% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 16,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,118,000 after purchasing an additional 10,099 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new stake in AppLovin during the first quarter valued at $623,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 212.0% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 624 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in AppLovin during the 1st quarter worth $1,235,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 33.5% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 1,028 shares in the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AppLovin Stock Up 46.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.27, a current ratio of 2.28 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.40 billion, a PE ratio of 104.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.86. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $132.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.51.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.12. AppLovin had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 84.16%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 44.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that AppLovin Co. will post 3.48 EPS for the current year.

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.