AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Up 3.1% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) were up 3.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $346.61 and last traded at $342.24. Approximately 1,452,683 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 3,868,238 shares. The stock had previously closed at $332.01.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on AppLovin from $335.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of AppLovin from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $103.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 target price (up previously from $170.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of AppLovin from $250.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $385.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Four equities 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AppLovin presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $338.06.

AppLovin Stock Up 3.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $114.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 103.74, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 2.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $330.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $189.06. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. AppLovin’s quarterly revenue was up 38.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that AppLovin Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 17,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.15, for a total transaction of $6,348,138.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 405,676 shares in the company, valued at $143,670,155.40. This represents a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dawson Alyssa Harvey sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.27, for a total transaction of $203,135.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,715,508.68. This represents a 6.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 888,867 shares of company stock valued at $284,773,062 over the last 90 days. 14.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AppLovin

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in AppLovin by 10.5% in the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 10,820,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,382,307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,009 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 622.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,893,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,030,462,000 after acquiring an additional 6,801,138 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 7.2% in the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 5,702,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $474,557,000 after acquiring an additional 382,767 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of AppLovin by 8.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,388,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $703,406,000 after acquiring an additional 428,419 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in AppLovin by 12.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,946,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $514,418,000 after purchasing an additional 449,241 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

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.