AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Trading 4% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 4% during trading on Wednesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $355.00 to $400.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. AppLovin traded as high as $412.95 and last traded at $414.39. Approximately 1,738,504 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 6,076,854 shares. The stock had previously closed at $398.51.

APP has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Arete Research set a $200.00 target price on AppLovin in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $500.00 price objective (down previously from $560.00) on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on AppLovin from $350.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin in a report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on AppLovin from $460.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AppLovin currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $436.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 6,585 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.23, for a total transaction of $2,437,964.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 357,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $132,506,427.69. This represents a 1.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.65, for a total value of $4,228,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 88,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,359,201.85. This trade represents a 16.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,115,754 shares of company stock worth $411,165,970. 14.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AppLovin

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of AppLovin by 75.5% during the fourth 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 during the period. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,781,922,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its stake in shares of AppLovin by 5,421.4% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,084,496 shares of the company's stock worth $1,322,682,000 after purchasing an additional 4,010,520 shares during the period. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AppLovin by 117,664.4% during the first quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,702,694 shares of the company's stock worth $716,133,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700,399 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth approximately $828,138,000. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AppLovin Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $140.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.53. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $305.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $330.82.

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