AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Trading Up 1.2% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• AppLovin's share price increased by 1.2% during trading, with the stock closing at $364.27 after reaching a high of $369.79.
• Analyst ratings show a general positive outlook for AppLovin, with target prices increased by Jefferies, Piper Sandler, Goldman Sachs, and UBS.
• The company's recent earnings report revealed an EPS of $1.67, exceeding estimates and reflecting a 40.3% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Insider trading activity saw significant stock sales, with the CTO and a director reducing their holdings, raising questions about insider sentiment.

Shares of AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) shot up 1.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $369.79 and last traded at $364.27. 1,079,860 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 7,183,571 shares. The stock had previously closed at $359.94.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on APP. FBN Securities began coverage on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Friday, March 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $385.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank raised shares of AppLovin to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $470.00 price objective (up previously from $455.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $525.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price target (down previously from $560.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, AppLovin presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $447.57.

AppLovin Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $362.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $335.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.10. The company has a market capitalization of $123.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 2.42.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. AppLovin had a net margin of 37.38% and a return on equity of 224.65%. AppLovin's quarterly revenue was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that AppLovin Corporation will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AppLovin

In other news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 100,000 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.51, for a total value of $36,751,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,760,363 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,014,461,006.13. The trade was a 3.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 171,420 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $373.77, for a total transaction of $64,071,653.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 221,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,681,287.93. This trade represents a 43.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,212,968 shares of company stock worth $455,062,980. 13.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in AppLovin during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in AppLovin during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in AppLovin during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in AppLovin during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in AppLovin during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 41.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.