AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Up 3.4% - What's Next?

Key Points

• AppLovin's shares rose by 3.4%, reaching a last traded price of $426.25, although trading volume was significantly down at 2.1 million shares, a 70% decline from the average.
• Equities analysts have raised their price targets for AppLovin, with estimates now ranging as high as $620.00, indicating strong confidence in the stock's potential.
• The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, surpassing estimates, but its revenue of $1.26 billion fell short of analyst expectations of $1.37 billion.

AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) shares traded up 3.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $431.49 and last traded at $426.25. 2,124,327 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 7,084,871 shares. The stock had previously closed at $412.38.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on AppLovin from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on AppLovin from $480.00 to $483.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on AppLovin from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $620.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on AppLovin from $405.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $472.33.

AppLovin Trading Up 1.6%

The company has a market capitalization of $141.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 2.43. 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 fifty day moving average price of $373.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $344.34.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 49,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.08, for a total value of $21,716,784.00. Following the sale, the director owned 140,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,051,200. This trade represents a 26.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Barbara Messing sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $382.46, for a total value of $573,690.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,637,194.60. This represents a 13.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,022,214 shares of company stock worth $448,294,925 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.66% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AppLovin

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of APP. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in AppLovin in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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