AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Sets New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• AppLovin's stock reached a new 52-week high at $551.95 after Jefferies Financial Group upgraded its price target from $560.00 to $615.00, maintaining a buy rating on the stock.
• The company reported earnings per share of $2.26 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates of $2.05, and its quarterly revenue increased by 77.1% compared to the same period last year.
• Insiders have recently sold a significant amount of stock, with a total of 1,158,288 shares valued at over $515 million sold in the past ninety days, indicating potential profit-taking among executives.

AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $560.00 to $615.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. AppLovin traded as high as $548.89 and last traded at $551.95, with a volume of 3877251 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $490.24.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $500.00 price objective (down from $560.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on AppLovin from $480.00 to $491.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on AppLovin from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Two research 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 given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $482.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 3,800 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.09, for a total value of $1,588,742.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,616,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,093,829,634.86. The trade was a 0.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $502.23, for a total value of $17,578,050.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 269,955 shares of the company's stock, valued at $135,579,499.65. This represents a 11.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,158,288 shares of company stock valued at $515,437,023 over the last ninety days. 13.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AppLovin

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in AppLovin during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in shares of AppLovin in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AppLovin in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of AppLovin in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of AppLovin in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 41.85% of the company's stock.

AppLovin Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $186.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 2.44. The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $402.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $347.07.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. AppLovin had a return on equity of 252.67% and a net margin of 45.72%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 77.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AppLovin Corporation will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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