AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $270.48, but opened at $246.53. AppLovin shares last traded at $243.19, with a volume of 3,162,873 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on APP shares. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of AppLovin from $400.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of AppLovin from $375.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of AppLovin from $325.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $440.00 to $630.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $460.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $438.28.

AppLovin Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $363.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $262.97. The company has a market capitalization of $82.37 billion, a PE ratio of 54.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.33. 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 (NASDAQ:APP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a net margin of 33.54% and a return on equity of 188.55%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other AppLovin news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 15,971 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.07, for a total value of $5,000,040.97. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 372,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,526,219.35. This represents a 4.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 1,676 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.39, for a total transaction of $597,309.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,058,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,090,066,927.65. The trade was a 0.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 406,047 shares of company stock valued at $140,390,817 in the last three months. 14.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 150.6% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,000 after acquiring an additional 613 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the third quarter worth $1,730,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AppLovin by 128.9% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,022 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,439,000 after acquiring an additional 6,206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in AppLovin by 131.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,258,000 after acquiring an additional 5,480 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

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.