Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP)

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders purchased 25,179 call options on the company. This is an increase of 12% compared to the average daily volume of 22,439 call options.

AppLovin Trading Up 8.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ APP traded up $28.49 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $369.08. The stock had a trading volume of 3,784,146 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,454,701. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $201.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.29. The firm has a market cap of $123.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 110.29, a P/E/G ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 2.27. AppLovin has a 52-week low of $35.79 and a 52-week high of $371.75.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AppLovin

In related news, Director Eduardo Vivas sold 30,330 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.67, for a total transaction of $10,029,221.10. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 90,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,950,765.92. This trade represents a 25.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew Stumpf sold 21,101 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 213,336 shares in the company, valued at $70,970,487.12. The trade was a 9.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 884,395 shares of company stock valued at $243,101,629. Company insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Second Half Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the third quarter valued at about $224,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in AppLovin by 2,200.4% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 523,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,297,000 after buying an additional 500,407 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 10.5% during the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 10,820,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,382,307,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,009 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of AppLovin by 10.0% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,440,000 after acquiring an additional 2,385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in AppLovin by 64.9% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 7,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 3,126 shares during the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on APP shares. Daiwa Capital Markets raised AppLovin from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Daiwa America upgraded AppLovin from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $250.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on AppLovin from $260.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.57.

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.