AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Gap Down Following Insider Selling

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) shares gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $377.06, but opened at $328.47. AppLovin shares last traded at $314.96, with a volume of 9,711,693 shares traded.

Specifically, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $422.21, for a total value of $18,999,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,914,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,230,527,667.32. The trade was a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 44,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.89, for a total value of $18,243,516.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,869,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,179,045,567.88. This represents a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on APP shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group increased their target price on AppLovin from $440.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Macquarie upped their price target on AppLovin from $270.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on AppLovin from $220.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $560.00 target price (up previously from $480.00) on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AppLovin has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $452.29.

AppLovin Stock Down 3.2 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $368.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $251.23. 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 firm has a market cap of $107.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.59, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.30.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a return on equity of 188.55% and a net margin of 33.54%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of AppLovin

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of AppLovin by 64.9% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 7,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,037,000 after buying an additional 3,126 shares in the last quarter. Second Half Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in AppLovin in the third quarter worth about $224,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in AppLovin by 8.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,388,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $703,406,000 after buying an additional 428,419 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in AppLovin by 2,200.4% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 523,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,297,000 after buying an additional 500,407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management grew its position in shares of AppLovin by 328.1% in the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 106,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,854,000 after acquiring an additional 81,331 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

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.