AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $180.00 to $260.00. The stock had previously closed at $168.55, but opened at $230.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. AppLovin shares last traded at $249.29, with a volume of 5,208,085 shares trading hands.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on APP. Benchmark restated a “sell” rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $185.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup increased their target price on AppLovin from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Macquarie upped their price target on AppLovin from $150.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AppLovin currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.54.

Insider Activity at AppLovin

In related news, Director Dawson Alyssa Harvey sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.90, for a total transaction of $131,850.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $900,711.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Dawson Alyssa Harvey sold 1,500 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.90, for a total transaction of $131,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,711.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 14,166 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.98, for a total transaction of $1,274,656.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 352,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,728,387.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 610,094 shares of company stock valued at $51,022,478. Insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AppLovin

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in APP. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in AppLovin during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in AppLovin during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in AppLovin in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 50.0% during the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 300 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AppLovin Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $82.40 billion, a PE ratio of 104.91, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $132.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.51.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.12. AppLovin had a return on equity of 84.16% and a net margin of 20.89%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 44.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that AppLovin Co. will post 3.48 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.