Piper Sandler Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Stock

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) had its target price raised by research analysts at Piper Sandler from $400.00 to $575.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler’s target price suggests a potential upside of 15.56% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on AppLovin from $250.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on AppLovin from $385.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Macquarie increased their target price on AppLovin from $270.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AppLovin has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $399.82.

AppLovin Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:APP traded up $117.27 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $497.59. The company had a trading volume of 7,180,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,335,098. The company has a fifty day moving average of $347.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $224.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.41. AppLovin has a 12-month low of $45.59 and a 12-month high of $525.15. The company has a market cap of $166.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 150.90, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 2.30.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a net margin of 26.85% and a return on equity of 122.24%. On average, equities research analysts expect that AppLovin will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Matthew Stumpf sold 21,101 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 213,336 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $70,970,487.12. This represents a 9.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 1,676 shares of AppLovin 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 represents a 0.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 828,991 shares of company stock valued at $267,640,144. 14.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in AppLovin in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Riverview Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 1,640.0% in the 4th 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. Tucker Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Hemington Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of AppLovin by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.