AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $657.00 and last traded at $651.67, with a volume of 2354259 shares. The stock had previously closed at $649.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of AppLovin from $620.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $560.00 to $615.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of AppLovin to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AppLovin has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $501.95.

AppLovin Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $451.52 and a 200-day moving average of $364.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 2.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 2.44.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. AppLovin had a return on equity of 252.67% and a net margin of 45.72%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 77.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AppLovin Corporation will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AppLovin

In related news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 35,000 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $502.23, for a total value of $17,578,050.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 269,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $135,579,499.65. The trade was a 11.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eduardo Vivas sold 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.00, for a total transaction of $58,250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,283,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,394,014,072. This represents a 1.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,156,788 shares of company stock valued at $514,863,333. 13.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in APP. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in AppLovin in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in AppLovin in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in AppLovin in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.