AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Trading Down 2.8% on Insider Selling

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)’s stock price was down 2.8% during trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $260.93 and last traded at $264.90. Approximately 2,241,727 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 5,135,590 shares. The stock had previously closed at $272.59.

Specifically, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.65, for a total value of $4,228,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 88,389 shares in the company, valued at $21,359,201.85. This represents a 16.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on APP. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of AppLovin from $220.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $400.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America boosted their target price on AppLovin from $375.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on AppLovin from $325.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $560.00 price objective (up from $480.00) on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $438.28.

AppLovin Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $359.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $265.25. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $90.39 billion, a PE ratio of 58.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.33.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 188.55% and a net margin of 33.54%. Research analysts expect that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AppLovin

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of AppLovin by 75.5% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 13,851,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,485,409,000 after acquiring an additional 5,957,885 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 4th quarter worth $1,781,922,000. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of AppLovin by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,388,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $703,406,000 after buying an additional 428,419 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AppLovin by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,519,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,462,144,000 after buying an additional 573,310 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 5,421.4% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,084,496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,322,682,000 after acquiring an additional 4,010,520 shares in the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.