AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Up 4.5% - Here's Why

Key Points

• AppLovin's shares increased by 4.5% during trading, reaching a high of $653.06 on Friday, significantly surpassing the average trading volume.
• Wall Street analysts have issued various ratings on AppLovin, with Zacks Research upgrading the stock to a "strong-buy" rating while others have set higher price targets, leading to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Insider trading has been notable, with significant share sales by insiders, including Victoria Valenzuela's sale of 35,000 shares valued at over $17 million, indicating potential fluctuations in insider confidence.

AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 4.5% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $653.06 and last traded at $649.59. 69,463,310 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 844% from the average session volume of 7,361,820 shares. The stock had previously closed at $621.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on APP. Zacks Research raised shares of AppLovin to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AppLovin from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $525.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $620.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AppLovin has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $501.95.

AppLovin Stock Up 4.5%

The firm has a market cap of $219.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 2.44. The firm's fifty day moving average is $445.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $361.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 2.74.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AppLovin

In other AppLovin news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $502.23, for a total value of $17,578,050.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 269,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $135,579,499.65. The trade was a 11.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.57, for a total transaction 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 approximately $1,470,280,707.28. This trade represents a 0.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,156,788 shares of company stock valued at $514,863,333 in the last ninety days. 13.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AppLovin

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Trust bought a new stake in AppLovin in the second quarter worth about $388,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its holdings in AppLovin by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 20,525 shares of the company's stock worth $7,185,000 after buying an additional 1,262 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in AppLovin by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 24,891 shares of the company's stock worth $8,714,000 after buying an additional 4,074 shares during the period. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH acquired a new stake in AppLovin during the 2nd quarter worth about $288,000. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in AppLovin during the 2nd quarter worth about $215,000. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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