Howard Capital Management Inc. Makes New Investment in AppLovin Corporation $APP

Howard Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,641,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in AppLovin in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of AppLovin by 760.0% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 43 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Stock Performance

NASDAQ APP opened at $473.11 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $635.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $565.79. The company has a market capitalization of $159.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.42, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 2.50. AppLovin Corporation has a 1-year low of $200.50 and a 1-year high of $745.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 3.25 and a quick ratio of 3.25.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.11. AppLovin had a return on equity of 258.49% and a net margin of 51.27%.The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.29 earnings per share. AppLovin’s revenue was up 68.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that AppLovin Corporation will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

More AppLovin News

Here are the key news stories impacting AppLovin this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI initiated coverage with an Outperform and $835 price target, citing expansion into e‑commerce ads and a wider growth runway — a formal analyst endorsement that can support the stock on rebounds. Evercore ISI Initiates Coverage on AppLovin (APP) With Outperform Amid Mobile Gaming and E-Commerce Ad Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Forbes explains the broader rally: accelerating revenue, margin improvement, divestitures that refocused the company, analyst upgrades and buybacks — factors that underpin medium‑term upside if fundamentals remain intact. Why Is AppLovin Stock Rallying?
• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha lays out a bullish case ahead of earnings: AppLovin is now a pure‑play ad platform, AXON 2.0 and Ads Manager adoption could reaccelerate growth, and Q4 guidance implies sequential revenue and high EBITDA margins — suggesting upside if management delivers. AppLovin: Your Golden Buying Opportunity Ahead Of Earnings (Preview)
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage pieces (e.g., Needham/Yahoo) highlight large TAM and product potential, framing AppLovin as a high‑growth ad platform with upside if user and e‑commerce ad monetization scale. Needham Thinks This Tech Stock Could Be the Next TikTok. Should You Buy It Here?
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks notes increased investor attention — useful context but not a direct catalyst; attention can amplify moves in either direction. AppLovin Corporation (APP) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Longer‑term price forecasts and recovery narratives (price‑target pieces) remind investors of prior volatility and the upside recovery potential but are speculative. AppLovin (NASDAQ: APP) Stock Price Prediction and Forecast 2026-2030 (Jan 30)
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest data this week appeared inconsistent (zero values), signaling either a data glitch or reporting lag — monitor accurate short‑interest updates for positioning signals.
• Negative Sentiment: A new short report alleged money‑laundering links and triggered a sharp sell‑off; such allegations can materially affect sentiment, regulatory scrutiny and short‑term liquidity. AppLovin Faces Money-Laundering Claims—Here’s What’s Missing
• Negative Sentiment: AppLovin has publicly disputed the short report, but media coverage highlights execution risk for its AI/e‑commerce push and keeps sentiment fragile until investigations and disclosures resolve. AppLovin Disputes Short Report As AI E Commerce Push Faces Test
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz launched an investor investigation into AppLovin, escalating legal risk and potential litigation costs — a tangible negative catalyst until cleared. INVESTOR ALERT: Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims On Behalf of Investors of AppLovin Corporation – APP

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on APP. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on AppLovin from $800.00 to $860.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Benchmark raised their price target on AppLovin from $700.00 to $775.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on AppLovin from $630.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Evercore ISI reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on AppLovin from $850.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $706.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at AppLovin

In other AppLovin news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 7,609 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $657.13, for a total transaction of $5,000,102.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 277,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,097,294.30. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 27,143 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $545.38, for a total transaction of $14,803,249.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 3,323,681 shares in the company, valued at $1,812,669,143.78. This trade represents a 0.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 340,336 shares of company stock valued at $200,062,623 in the last quarter. Insiders own 13.66% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Profile

AppLovin Corporation is a Palo Alto–based mobile technology company that provides software and services to help app developers grow and monetize their businesses. The company operates a data-driven advertising and marketing platform that connects app publishers and advertisers, delivering tools for user acquisition, monetization, analytics and creative optimization. AppLovin’s technology is integrated into a broad set of mobile applications through software development kits (SDKs) and ad products designed to maximize revenue and engagement for developers.

Key components of AppLovin’s offering include an ad mediation and exchange platform that enables publishers to manage and monetize inventory across multiple demand sources, and a user-acquisition platform that helps advertisers target and scale campaigns.