AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Raised to Strong-Buy at Argus

Key Points

• Argus upgraded AppLovin to a "Strong-Buy", while analyst coverage remains mixed overall — 1 Strong Buy, 18 Buy and 5 Hold lead to a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $661.95.
• AppLovin beat quarterly estimates with $3.24 EPS vs. $2.89 expected and $1.66B revenue (vs. $1.61B), reporting revenue up 66% year-over-year and very high profitability metrics (net margin 57.42%, ROE 245.64%).
• Insiders have been active sellers recently: Director Eduardo Vivas sold 163,910 shares (~$74.3M) and insiders sold 365,244 shares (~$169.6M) over the past three months, while insiders still own about 13.66% of the company.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Argus to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

APP has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group set a $740.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $710.00 to $585.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $543.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of AppLovin from $820.00 to $710.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of AppLovin from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $661.95.

AppLovin Stock Up 3.8%

NASDAQ:APP opened at $433.29 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.44, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.50. AppLovin has a 1-year low of $222.02 and a 1-year high of $745.61. The company's fifty day moving average price is $424.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $550.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 3.32 and a quick ratio of 3.32.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. AppLovin had a net margin of 57.42% and a return on equity of 245.64%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 66.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.73 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AppLovin will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Eduardo Vivas sold 163,910 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.49, for a total transaction of $74,331,545.90. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,969,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,160,545,043.18. This represents a 2.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 5,231 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.47, for a total transaction of $2,497,645.57. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 30,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,638,275.26. The trade was a 14.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 365,244 shares of company stock valued at $169,584,607. Corporate insiders own 13.66% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in AppLovin during the fourth quarter valued at $9,097,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in AppLovin by 66.9% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 22,957 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,470,000 after purchasing an additional 9,198 shares in the last quarter. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in AppLovin during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in AppLovin by 261.6% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 5,627 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,791,000 after purchasing an additional 4,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new position in AppLovin during the fourth quarter valued at $270,000. 41.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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