AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Reaches New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• AppLovin Corporation hit a new 52-week high of $657.00, indicating strong market performance with significant trading volume of over 2.3 million shares.
• A range of analysts have upgraded their target prices for AppLovin, with benchmarks set between $480.00 and $640.00, yet Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from a "buy" to a "hold" rating.
• In its latest earnings report, AppLovin posted an EPS of $2.26, exceeding analyst expectations, while also seeing a 77.1% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year.

AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $657.00 and last traded at $651.67, with a volume of 2354259 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $649.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on APP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Zacks Research raised shares of AppLovin to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of AppLovin from $460.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AppLovin currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $501.95.

AppLovin Stock Down 0.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 2.74. The company has a market cap of $217.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 2.44. The company's 50-day moving average is $457.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $367.01.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.21. AppLovin had a net margin of 45.72% and a return on equity of 252.67%. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 77.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that AppLovin Corporation will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AppLovin

In other AppLovin news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 30,000 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.57, for a total value of $13,127,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 3,360,104 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,470,280,707.28. The trade was a 0.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 35,000 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $502.23, for a total transaction of $17,578,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 269,955 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $135,579,499.65. This trade represents a 11.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,156,788 shares of company stock worth $514,863,333. Company insiders own 13.66% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AppLovin

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APP. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in AppLovin in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. 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.