Wall Street Zen Downgrades AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) to Hold

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has downgraded AppLovin (NASDAQ: APP) from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating, indicating a cautious outlook on the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, several analysts still maintain a positive outlook, with target prices ranging significantly, including a high of $620.00 from Wedbush.
• In recent insider trading, both the CTO and CEO of AppLovin sold substantial amounts of stock, which could indicate a lack of confidence in the company's near-term performance.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on APP. HSBC set a $436.00 target price on shares of AppLovin and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $620.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of AppLovin from $460.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $472.33.

AppLovin Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APP opened at $455.98 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01. AppLovin has a 12 month low of $72.81 and a 12 month high of $525.15. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $366.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $340.06. The stock has a market cap of $154.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.77, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 2.43.

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

Insider Activity at AppLovin

In other AppLovin news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 34,766 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.64, for a total value of $12,294,648.24. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 70,889 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,069,185.96. This represents a 32.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.51, for a total transaction of $36,751,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,760,363 shares in the company, valued at $1,014,461,006.13. The trade was a 3.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,212,968 shares of company stock worth $455,062,980. 13.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AppLovin

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.85% of the company's stock.

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.

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