AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Up 2.2% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• AppLovin Corporation shares rose by 2.2%, trading at approximately $564.82, despite a 40% decline in average session volume.
• Several analysts have significantly increased their price targets for AppLovin, with Piper Sandler raising it to $740 and Citigroup to $850, resulting in an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of $605.13.
• The company reported better-than-expected earnings with an EPS of $2.26, exceeding estimates, while revenue saw a 77.1% year-over-year increase, amounting to $1.26 billion.

AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) shot up 2.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $571.58 and last traded at $564.82. 4,421,106 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 7,343,764 shares. The stock had previously closed at $552.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of AppLovin from $500.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of AppLovin from $600.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of AppLovin from $580.00 to $860.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of AppLovin from $725.00 to $745.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of AppLovin from $540.00 to $810.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $605.13.

AppLovin Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $559.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $416.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 2.74. The firm has a market cap of $191.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 2.53.

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

Insider Activity

In other AppLovin news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.57, for a total value of $13,127,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 3,360,104 shares in the company, valued at $1,470,280,707.28. This trade represents a 0.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $502.23, for a total transaction of $17,578,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 269,955 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $135,579,499.65. This represents a 11.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,156,788 shares of company stock worth $514,863,333. 13.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AppLovin

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in AppLovin in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in shares of AppLovin in 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 valued at about $26,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of AppLovin in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AppLovin in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. 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.

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