AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Stock Price Up 0.8% – Should You Buy?

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)’s stock price rose 0.8% on Friday . The company traded as high as $368.85 and last traded at $365.31. Approximately 794,321 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 3,926,186 shares. The stock had previously closed at $362.52.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of AppLovin from $335.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of AppLovin from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $250.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $355.41.

AppLovin Trading Up 1.2 %

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $335.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $195.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70. The firm has a market cap of $123.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 111.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 2.29.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.33. AppLovin had a net margin of 26.85% and a return on equity of 122.24%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 38.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AppLovin Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AppLovin

In related news, CMO Katie Kihorany Jansen sold 59,876 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.14, for a total value of $17,132,918.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 1,017,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $291,115,402.32. The trade was a 5.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Herald Y. Chen sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.16, for a total value of $146,464.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 207,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,032,757.84. This trade represents a 0.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 888,867 shares of company stock valued at $284,773,062 in the last ninety days. 14.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of AppLovin by 13.6% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 11,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $933,000 after purchasing an additional 1,355 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in shares of AppLovin by 44.9% during the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 17,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 5,490 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of AppLovin by 87.8% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in AppLovin by 38.3% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 31,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,613,000 after acquiring an additional 8,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its holdings in AppLovin by 17.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 70,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,904,000 after acquiring an additional 10,700 shares during the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.