AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Up 8% Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) rose 8% during mid-day trading on Monday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $335.00 to $435.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. AppLovin traded as high as $358.67 and last traded at $354.87. Approximately 3,352,757 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 5,988,124 shares. The stock had previously closed at $328.54.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on APP. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $460.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $525.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. FBN Securities began coverage on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Friday, March 28th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $385.00 target price on the stock. Finally, HSBC set a $436.00 target price on shares of AppLovin and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $433.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at AppLovin

In other news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 44,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.89, for a total transaction of $18,243,516.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,869,492 shares in the company, valued at $1,179,045,567.88. The trade was a 1.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 400,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.61, for a total transaction of $149,844,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 221,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at $82,867,103.49. This trade represents a 64.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,119,470 shares of company stock valued at $409,752,180 in the last 90 days. 14.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in AppLovin by 38.2% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in AppLovin by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company's stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in AppLovin by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 526 shares of the company's stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in AppLovin by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,776 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,223,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Vestcor Inc boosted its position in AppLovin by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 4,108 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,088,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AppLovin Trading Down 1.2%

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $285.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $317.47. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.18 billion, a PE ratio of 79.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.39.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. AppLovin had a net margin of 33.54% and a return on equity of 188.55%. AppLovin's revenue for the quarter was up 40.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current year.

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.