AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Trading 1.3% Higher - Here's Why

Shares of AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) shot up 1.3% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $343.50 and last traded at $340.24. 3,525,836 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 6,220,592 shares. The stock had previously closed at $336.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on APP. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price objective (down previously from $560.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of AppLovin from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $460.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of AppLovin from $335.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a report on Friday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $438.85.

AppLovin Stock Up 1.3%

The stock has a market cap of $115.13 billion, a PE ratio of 61.42, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 2.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.10, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $352.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $333.89.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.22. AppLovin had a net margin of 37.38% and a return on equity of 224.65%. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that AppLovin Corporation will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AppLovin

In related news, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 400,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.61, for a total transaction of $149,844,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 221,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,867,103.49. This represents a 64.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 171,420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $373.77, for a total value 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 represents a 43.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,212,968 shares of company stock valued at $455,062,980. Corporate insiders own 13.66% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in APP. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in AppLovin by 7.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,830,675 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,724,594,000 after buying an additional 1,213,536 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of AppLovin by 75.5% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 13,851,122 shares of the company's stock worth $4,485,409,000 after purchasing an additional 5,957,885 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in AppLovin by 36.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,588,483 shares of the company's stock worth $1,745,752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,769,400 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its holdings in AppLovin by 29.0% in the 1st quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 5,270,355 shares of the company's stock worth $1,396,486,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185,859 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in AppLovin by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,519,445 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,462,144,000 after purchasing an additional 573,310 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.85% of the company's stock.

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.