AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Trading Up 2% – What’s Next?

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)’s stock price shot up 2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $331.00 and last traded at $319.19. 1,579,738 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 4,605,240 shares. The stock had previously closed at $313.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on APP. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on AppLovin from $250.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of AppLovin from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $80.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of AppLovin from $385.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of AppLovin from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.71.

AppLovin Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $114.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.33, a P/E/G 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $264.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $152.99.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 99,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.50, for a total value of $32,620,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 621,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,688,365.50. This represents a 13.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Katie Kihorany Jansen sold 59,876 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.14, for a total transaction of $17,132,918.64. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 1,017,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $291,115,402.32. This trade represents a 5.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 872,896 shares of company stock valued at $279,773,021 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AppLovin

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in AppLovin during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in AppLovin in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. raised its position in shares of AppLovin by 50.0% during the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 300 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.