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

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $318.24, but opened at $309.00. AppLovin shares last traded at $309.94, with a volume of 1,995,050 shares traded.

Specifically, CFO Matthew Stumpf sold 21,101 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.67, for a total value of $7,019,669.67. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 213,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,970,487.12. This represents a 9.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Craig Scott Billings sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.94, for a total value of $5,740,920.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $952,673.78. This represents a 85.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In related news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 593,588 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.37, for a total value of $189,574,199.56. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 3,919,024 shares in the company, valued at $1,251,618,694.88. This trade represents a 13.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of AppLovin from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $145.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of AppLovin from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $280.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of AppLovin from $185.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Macquarie boosted their price objective on AppLovin from $150.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded AppLovin from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.96.

AppLovin Stock Up 4.7 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $181.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 2.41. The company has a market capitalization of $111.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.00, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 1.86.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. AppLovin had a net margin of 26.85% and a return on equity of 122.24%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 38.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that AppLovin Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AppLovin

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Covestor Ltd increased its position in AppLovin by 85.8% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 511 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in AppLovin in the 1st quarter worth about $180,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in AppLovin by 131,600.0% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 6,580 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in AppLovin by 68.8% during the first quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 6,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 2,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank bought a new position in AppLovin during the first quarter worth about $1,193,000. 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.