AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Trading Up 6.3% Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• AppLovin's stock surged 6.3% after Morgan Stanley raised its price target from $480 to $750, maintaining an overweight rating on the stock.
• Insiders sold over 1.1 million shares of AppLovin stock worth approximately $514.9 million in the last quarter, impacting their ownership stakes significantly.
• The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the latest quarter, surpassing estimates, though it fell short on revenue expectations with $1.26 billion reported compared to an anticipated $1.37 billion.

AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 6.3% during mid-day trading on Monday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $480.00 to $750.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. AppLovin traded as high as $745.61 and last traded at $712.36. Approximately 11,887,527 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 59% from the average daily volume of 7,473,101 shares. The stock had previously closed at $669.86.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on APP. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $620.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $500.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Benchmark upped their target price on AppLovin from $525.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $553.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 90,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $421.04, for a total value of $37,893,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,620,054 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,103,147,536.16. This trade represents a 3.32% decrease in their position. The sale 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 200,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $432.49, for a total value of $86,498,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 181,929 shares in the company, valued at $78,682,473.21. This represents a 52.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,156,788 shares of company stock worth $514,863,333 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.66% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 4th quarter worth approximately $294,000. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new stake in AppLovin in the fourth quarter worth about $239,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 365 shares of the company's stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its stake in shares of AppLovin by 13,000.0% in the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 524 shares of the company's stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in AppLovin by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 455,702 shares of the company's stock valued at $120,747,000 after acquiring an additional 15,213 shares during the period. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AppLovin Trading Up 6.3%

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $480.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $377.93. The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01. The company has a market cap of $240.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 2.44.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.21. AppLovin had a net margin of 45.72% and a return on equity of 252.67%. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 77.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AppLovin Corporation will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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