Zacks Research Downgrades AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) to Hold

Key Points

• Zacks Research has downgraded AppLovin's stock rating from "strong-buy" to "hold", signaling a shift in investor sentiment.
• Despite the downgrade, Bank of America has raised their target price for AppLovin from $580.00 to $860.00 while maintaining a "buy" rating.
• AppLovin reported quarterly earnings of $2.26 EPS, surpassing estimates, but revenue fell short of expectations at $1.26 billion, up 77.1% year-over-year.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen cut AppLovin from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Bank of America upped their target price on AppLovin from $580.00 to $860.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on AppLovin from $480.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AppLovin presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $579.81.

AppLovin Trading Up 7.6%

APP opened at $631.85 on Monday. AppLovin has a 52 week low of $139.40 and a 52 week high of $745.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $524.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $395.61. The firm has a market cap of $213.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 2.53. The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01.

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

Insider Transactions at AppLovin

In related news, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was 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 directly owned 181,929 shares of the company's stock, valued at $78,682,473.21. This trade represents a 52.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $502.23, for a total value of $17,578,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 269,955 shares in the company, valued at $135,579,499.65. This represents a 11.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,156,788 shares of company stock worth $514,863,333 over the last ninety days. 13.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the company's stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 62.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 172,378 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,675,000 after purchasing an additional 66,453 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 30.6% in the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 20,890 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,313,000 after purchasing an additional 4,890 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 3,544 shares of the company's stock valued at $939,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 15.6% during the second quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 45,209 shares of the company's stock worth $15,827,000 after purchasing an additional 6,104 shares in the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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