AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Down 4.2% – Should You Sell?

AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP)’s share price dropped 4.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $324.68 and last traded at $330.04. Approximately 3,137,597 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 6,106,191 shares. The stock had previously closed at $344.37.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective (down from $560.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on AppLovin from $355.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on AppLovin from $335.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on AppLovin from $425.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Arete Research set a $200.00 price objective on AppLovin in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $438.10.

AppLovin Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $333.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $334.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.10. The stock has a market cap of $109.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 2.53.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.22. AppLovin had a return on equity of 224.65% and a net margin of 37.38%. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that AppLovin Corporation will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AppLovin

In related news, Director Craig Scott Billings sold 12,000 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.12, for a total transaction of $4,237,440.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,054,769.44. This trade represents a 80.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 171,420 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $373.77, for a total value of $64,071,653.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 221,209 shares in the company, valued at $82,681,287.93. This trade represents a 43.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,212,968 shares of company stock valued at $455,062,980. 13.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AppLovin

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AppLovin by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 3,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $939,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in AppLovin by 62.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 172,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,675,000 after acquiring an additional 66,453 shares during the last quarter. Peak Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in AppLovin in the 4th quarter worth approximately $969,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in AppLovin by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,106,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in AppLovin in the 4th quarter worth approximately $294,000. 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.