AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Trading Up 2.7% – Should You Buy?

AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP)’s share price traded up 2.7% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $482.00 and last traded at $472.92. 6,097,316 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 5% from the average session volume of 6,391,147 shares. The stock had previously closed at $460.38.

AppLovin News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting AppLovin this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Short-seller CapitalWatch publicly apologized and walked back claims linking an AppLovin shareholder to money-laundering, removing a major headline risk that had pressured the stock and prompting a sharp rally. Short-seller CapitalWatch retracts report (CNBC)
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators called the sell-off overblown and flagged AppLovin as a buy, with Jefferies and other firms framing current levels as a buying opportunity — reinforcing investor confidence. Jefferies defends AppLovin (Yahoo Finance)
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamental bull case: commentators highlight 2026 as an inflection year driven by Axon 2.0 global rollout, e‑commerce expansion, and AI-powered ad creative scaling — improving ROAS, ad inventory and margins; one write-up pegs a low PEG after the sell-off. Buy-the-dip thesis (Seeking Alpha)
• Positive Sentiment: Technical momentum: market commentary points to a breakout/important support around ~$466 and bullish candlestick patterns (hammer), which traders interpret as a potential base for a trend reversal. Technical breakout note (Benzinga)
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry context: several investment pieces list APP among resilient software/AI beneficiaries, noting its ad tech and recommendation engine fit into the broader AI adoption theme — supportive but broad sector-level tailwinds. Sector resilience piece (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Market calendar/earnings: APP appears on this week’s earnings slate for tech names; upcoming reports and guidance will remain material for near-term price action. Earnings calendar mention (Benzinga)
• Negative Sentiment: Lingering reputational risk: although withdrawn, the original short-seller allegations attracted wide coverage and could leave residual due‑diligence scrutiny, regulatory attention, or investor wariness. Coverage of the retraction and prior allegations (Barron’s)
• Negative Sentiment: Prominent commentators (e.g., Jim Cramer) note diminished market enthusiasm versus prior “magical” expectations — signaling sentiment may remain fragile if growth or margin beats slip. Jim Cramer commentary (InsiderMonkey)

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on APP. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $700.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $771.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on AppLovin from $575.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of AppLovin from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of AppLovin in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AppLovin has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $686.05.

AppLovin Stock Up 2.7%

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $616.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $571.64. The company has a market cap of $159.82 billion, a PE ratio of 57.39, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 2.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 3.25 and a quick ratio of 3.25.

Insider Activity at AppLovin

In other news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 30,888 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $520.29, for a total value of $16,070,717.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,553,161 shares in the company, valued at $1,328,384,136.69. This trade represents a 1.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 7,609 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The stock was 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 represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 187,986 shares of company stock valued at $101,032,761. 13.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AppLovin

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in AppLovin by 31.5% in the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,627,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin in the third quarter valued at $2,514,000. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its position in shares of AppLovin by 73.5% in the third quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 76,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,664,000 after purchasing an additional 32,510 shares during the period. Thames Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 114.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thames Capital Management LLC now owns 16,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,001,000 after buying an additional 8,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 117,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,160,000 after buying an additional 15,074 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Company 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.