AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Trading Up 4.9% – Still a Buy?

Shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) traded up 4.9% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $261.00 and last traded at $249.78. 4,800,899 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 5% from the average session volume of 5,078,897 shares. The stock had previously closed at $238.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on APP. Wells Fargo & Company set a $538.00 price target on shares of AppLovin and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of AppLovin from $220.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on AppLovin from $250.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup upped their price target on AppLovin from $460.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price objective on AppLovin from $450.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $438.28.

AppLovin Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $361.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $264.02. The company has a market capitalization of $87.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.33.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a return on equity of 188.55% and a net margin of 33.54%. Equities research analysts anticipate that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AppLovin

In other AppLovin news, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.65, for a total transaction of $64,930,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 621,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $201,675,501.85. This trade represents a 24.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $422.21, for a total value of $18,999,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,914,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,230,527,667.32. This trade represents a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 404,371 shares of company stock worth $139,793,507. Company insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Riverview Trust Co grew its stake in AppLovin by 1,640.0% in the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Tucker Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management raised its position in shares of AppLovin by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.