AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Up 4.8% After Analyst Upgrade

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) shares shot up 4.8% during mid-day trading on Monday after Loop Capital raised their price target on the stock from $385.00 to $450.00. Loop Capital currently has a buy rating on the stock. AppLovin traded as high as $346.26 and last traded at $340.06. 1,876,316 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 4,572,532 shares. The stock had previously closed at $324.47.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on APP. Citigroup increased their price objective on AppLovin from $335.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded AppLovin from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $280.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on AppLovin from $270.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered AppLovin from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $103.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $296.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 1,676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.39, for a total value of $597,309.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,058,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,090,066,927.65. This trade represents a 0.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Craig Scott Billings sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.94, for a total value of $5,740,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $952,673.78. This represents a 85.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 872,896 shares of company stock valued at $279,773,021. 14.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AppLovin

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its position in AppLovin by 10.5% during the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 10,820,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,382,307,000 after buying an additional 1,029,009 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in AppLovin by 622.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,893,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,030,462,000 after buying an additional 6,801,138 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its stake in AppLovin by 7.2% during the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 5,702,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $474,557,000 after purchasing an additional 382,767 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in AppLovin by 8.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,388,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $703,406,000 after purchasing an additional 428,419 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AppLovin by 12.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,946,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $514,418,000 after purchasing an additional 449,241 shares during the period. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AppLovin Trading Up 6.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $115.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.23, a PEG ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 2.28. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $250.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.07.

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