AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Down 7.6% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares down 7.6% intraday to $617.76 (low $596.76) on a ~91% surge in volume as ~8.38M shares traded versus a 4.39M daily average.
• Analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target of $706.76, after multiple firms raised price targets (e.g., BofA $860, RBC $750, Deutsche Bank $705).
• AppLovin reported strong quarterly results — $2.45 EPS vs $2.34 estimate and $1.41B revenue (up 68.2% YoY) with a 51.3% net margin — but insiders have sold roughly 340,336 shares (~$200M) in the past three months.

AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 7.6% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $596.76 and last traded at $617.76. Approximately 8,381,699 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 91% from the average daily volume of 4,393,901 shares. The stock had previously closed at $668.63.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $705.00 price objective on AppLovin and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on AppLovin from $580.00 to $860.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on AppLovin from $700.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Oppenheimer set a $740.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $721.00 to $735.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $706.76.

AppLovin Trading Down 7.6%

The firm has a market cap of $208.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 2.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $640.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $549.90. The company has a current ratio of 3.25, a quick ratio of 3.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.11. AppLovin had a return on equity of 258.49% and a net margin of 51.27%.The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 68.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that AppLovin Corporation will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 27,143 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.38, for a total value of $14,803,249.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 3,323,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,812,669,143.78. This trade represents a 0.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eduardo Vivas sold 150,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $650.91, for a total value of $97,636,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,133,292 shares in the company, valued at $4,643,131,095.72. The trade was a 2.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 340,336 shares of company stock valued at $200,062,623 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.66% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AppLovin

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in shares of AppLovin during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in AppLovin in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in AppLovin in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in AppLovin in the third quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of AppLovin by 760.0% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 43 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AppLovin

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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