AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Trading Down 0.2% - What's Next?

Recently, the share price of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) decreased by 0.2% during trading on Thursday. The stock reached a low of $336.35 and finished trading at $341.00. Approximately 625,385 shares were traded during the day, which is a significant decline of 86% compared to the average volume of 4,601,191 shares. The previous day, the stock had closed at $341.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently provided their insights on AppLovin. UBS Group upgraded the company's rating from "neutral" to "buy" and raised their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $145.00 on September 17. Additionally, Macquarie increased their price target for AppLovin shares from $270.00 to $450.00, offering an "outperform" rating in a report dated December 6.

On November 7, Wedbush affirmed an "outperform" rating with an increase in their price objective from $170.00 to $270.00. However, Benchmark maintained a pessimistic stance, keeping their "sell" rating and price target at $66.00. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded AppLovin from a "hold" to a "strong-buy" rating on November 8. Overall, one analyst has issued a sell rating, four have given hold ratings, thirteen have provided buy ratings, and one analyst has assigned a strong buy rating. MarketBeat.com indicates that AppLovin has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $310.71.

AppLovin’s Stock Performance

Currently, AppLovin has a market capitalization of $114.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.17, and a beta of 2.28. The company's debt-to-equity ratio stands at 3.70, while both its quick ratio and current ratio are at 2.41. The stock has a fifty-day moving average price of $276.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $158.94.

On November 6, AppLovin reported their quarterly earnings, announcing earnings per share (EPS) of $1.25, which surpassed analysts' expectations of $0.92 by $0.33. The company showcased a net margin of 26.85% and achieved a return on equity of 122.24%. The revenue reported for this quarter was $1.20 billion, exceeding analyst forecasts of $1.13 billion, and representing a year-over-year increase of 38.6% from the previous year.

Insider Transactions at AppLovin

In related developments, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 15,971 shares on December 19 at an average price of $313.07, totaling approximately $5 million. Following this sale, Valenzuela retained 372,205 shares valued at roughly $116.5 million, indicating a 4.11% decrease in ownership. Furthermore, CFO Herald Y. Chen sold 400 shares on December 9 for a total of $146,464.

In the past three months, company insiders have sold 888,867 shares for a cumulative value of $284 million, with corporate insiders owning 14.69% of the total stock.

Institutional Investors’ Activity

Several large investors have also modified their holdings of AppLovin recently. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake by 4% in the third quarter, now owning 1,003 shares valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. enhanced their stake by 2.2%, holding 2,837 shares worth $370,000.

Additionally, HM Payson & Co. raised their position by 50%, owning 300 shares valued at $39,000. Other investors, including Aptus Capital Advisors LLC and Ashton Thomas Securities LLC have also slightly increased their holdings. In summary, institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.85% of AppLovin’s stock.

About AppLovin Corporation

AppLovin Corporation operates a software platform aimed at improving marketing and monetization for advertisers both in the United States and globally. The company has two main segments: Software Platform and Apps. Its software offerings include AppDiscovery, a solution that aligns advertiser demand with publisher inventory, and MAX, an in-app bidding system that optimizes the value of advertising inventory through real-time auctions. Additionally, they provide Adjust, a measurement and analytics marketing platform, and Wurl, a connected TV platform.

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