AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Stock Price Up 1.8% – Should You Buy?

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) shares traded up 1.8% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $336.56 and last traded at $329.50. 1,613,270 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 4,582,203 shares. The stock had previously closed at $323.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on APP shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of AppLovin from $335.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective (up previously from $170.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America increased their price target on AppLovin from $252.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of AppLovin from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AppLovin currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.71.

AppLovin Stock Up 1.5 %

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $294.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.87. The company has a market capitalization of $110.34 billion, a PE ratio of 99.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 2.28. 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 results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. AppLovin had a net margin of 26.85% and a return on equity of 122.24%. The business’s revenue was up 38.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that AppLovin Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AppLovin

In related news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 15,971 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 372,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $116,526,219.35. This represents a 4.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 593,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.37, for a total transaction of $189,574,199.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 3,919,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,251,618,694.88. This trade represents a 13.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 888,867 shares of company stock valued at $284,773,062. 14.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AppLovin

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APP. FMR LLC raised its position in AppLovin by 622.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,893,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,030,462,000 after buying an additional 6,801,138 shares during the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $290,655,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 977.2% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,496,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,522,000 after acquiring an additional 1,357,400 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AppLovin by 10.5% during the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 10,820,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,382,307,000 after buying an additional 1,029,009 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in AppLovin by 31.3% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,350,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,897,000 after buying an additional 560,560 shares during 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.