AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $288.88, but opened at $247.91. AppLovin shares last traded at $261.70, with a volume of 2,541,553 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on APP shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of AppLovin in a report on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America raised their price target on AppLovin from $375.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on AppLovin from $575.00 to $425.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Arete Research set a $200.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of AppLovin from $630.00 to $450.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $415.15.

AppLovin Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $276.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $304.83. The stock has a market cap of $104.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.39. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a net margin of 33.54% and a return on equity of 188.55%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AppLovin

In other news, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.65, for a total value of $64,930,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 621,209 shares in the company, valued at $201,675,501.85. This represents a 24.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.65, for a total value of $4,228,875.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 88,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,359,201.85. This trade represents a 16.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 306,900 shares of company stock valued at $106,401,841. Corporate insiders own 14.69% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APP. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the first quarter worth about $285,000. Bailard Inc. acquired a new position in AppLovin in the 1st quarter valued at $201,000. Graypoint LLC lifted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,197 shares of the company's stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 117,664.4% during the first quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,702,694 shares of the company's stock worth $716,133,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700,399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of AppLovin by 23.5% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 420,725 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,480,000 after purchasing an additional 80,016 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.85% of the company's stock.

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.