AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Given New $650.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley lowered AppLovin’s price target from $720 to $650 while maintaining an “overweight” rating, implying substantial upside from the stock’s prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $577.55, despite multiple firms cutting their targets and Piper Sandler downgrading the stock to “neutral.”
• AppLovin reported 52.8% year-over-year revenue growth and earnings in line with estimates, but revenue missed forecasts and weaker-than-expected third-quarter guidance contributed to a sharp share-price decline.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $720.00 to $650.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's target price suggests a potential upside of 88.43% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on APP. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on AppLovin from $700.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on AppLovin from $700.00 to $575.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wedbush cut their price target on shares of AppLovin from $640.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of AppLovin in a report on Monday, June 29th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $640.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler cut shares of AppLovin from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $665.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $577.55.

AppLovin Stock Performance

NASDAQ:APP traded down $72.84 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $344.96. The stock had a trading volume of 10,295,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,684,417. AppLovin has a 52 week low of $332.19 and a 52 week high of $745.61. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 2.54. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $484.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $466.38.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $3.76 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $3.76. AppLovin had a net margin of 64.29% and a return on equity of 219.37%. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 52.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that AppLovin will post 15.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AppLovin

In related news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $565.89, for a total value of $11,317,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 243,961 shares in the company, valued at $138,055,090.29. The trade was a 7.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew Stumpf sold 9,052 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $5,431,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 177,450 shares in the company, valued at $106,470,000. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 393,000 shares of company stock worth $197,297,363 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 12.81% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of APP. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of AppLovin by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Pioneer Family Office LLC purchased a new position in AppLovin during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in AppLovin in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.85% of the company's stock.

Key AppLovin News

Here are the key news stories impacting AppLovin this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AppLovin reported second-quarter revenue of approximately $1.924 billion, up 52.8% year over year, and earnings of $3.76 per share, in line with consensus and above the prior-year result. Adjusted EBITDA margin was reportedly 83.8%, highlighting continued operating leverage. AppLovin Announces Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management attributed the revenue shortfall partly to the timing of model improvements and said live gains, consumer scaling and continued advertising-platform expansion could support stronger growth in the third quarter. APP Q2 Earnings Call Highlights Model Timing, Q3 Reacceleration
• Positive Sentiment: The balance sheet remains supportive of investment, with roughly $3 billion in cash and $3.5 billion in debt. AppLovin is also expanding AXON Ads through a self-serve offering aimed at new verticals such as fintech and connected TV, potentially increasing its addressable market. AppLovin: A Dip We Were All Waiting For
• Neutral Sentiment: AppLovin’s CFO said an SEC probe involving the company has been closed, removing a reported regulatory overhang, although the earnings reaction remained focused on operating results. APP Stock Plunges After Revenue Miss and Soft Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue was below the approximately $1.94 billion analyst forecast. Because AppLovin’s valuation reflects very high growth expectations, the top-line miss overshadowed the strong profit performance. AppLovin Stock Falls on Q2 Revenue Miss
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue guidance of roughly $2.055 billion to $2.085 billion was viewed as below Wall Street expectations at the midpoint, raising concerns that monetization growth may be temporarily slowing. AppLovin Second-Quarter Sales Gain, Gives Soft Third-Quarter Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Several analysts reduced their price targets following the report, including Needham, BTIG, Bank of America and Wells Fargo. Although most maintained positive or neutral ratings, the cuts signal lower near-term expectations and reinforce investor caution. AppLovin Analysts Cut Their Forecasts Following Q2 Earnings

AppLovin Company Profile

AppLovin Corporation is a Palo Alto–based mobile technology company that provides software and services to help app developers grow and monetize their businesses. The company operates a data-driven advertising and marketing platform that connects app publishers and advertisers, delivering tools for user acquisition, monetization, analytics and creative optimization. AppLovin's technology is integrated into a broad set of mobile applications through software development kits (SDKs) and ad products designed to maximize revenue and engagement for developers.

Key components of AppLovin's offering include an ad mediation and exchange platform that enables publishers to manage and monetize inventory across multiple demand sources, and a user-acquisition platform that helps advertisers target and scale campaigns.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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