AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) Short Interest Update

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) saw a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 17,280,000 shares, an increase of 13.3% from the August 31st total of 15,250,000 shares. Approximately 8.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,110,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.2 days.

AppLovin Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of AppLovin stock opened at $130.55 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.34. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.27. The stock has a market cap of $42.95 billion, a PE ratio of 77.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.88. AppLovin has a 12 month low of $34.45 and a 12 month high of $133.05.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. AppLovin had a return on equity of 84.16% and a net margin of 20.89%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 44.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.22 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that AppLovin will post 3.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Eduardo Vivas sold 118,839 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.75, for a total value of $10,784,639.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,641,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $693,468,938.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Eduardo Vivas sold 118,839 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.75, for a total transaction of $10,784,639.25. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,641,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $693,468,938.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 154,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.14, for a total transaction of $12,999,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 4,530,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $381,192,483.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 728,933 shares of company stock worth $61,807,117. 14.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APP. Lone Pine Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 382,767 shares during the period. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of AppLovin by 185.0% during the first quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,890,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,305,000 after buying an additional 2,525,240 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin during the second quarter worth about $290,655,000. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin during the first quarter worth about $195,129,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of AppLovin by 42.6% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,298,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,605,000 after buying an additional 686,258 shares during the period. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on AppLovin from $114.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Macquarie reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target (up from $115.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $48.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group raised shares of AppLovin from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $145.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on AppLovin from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AppLovin has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.44.

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.