AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Up 1.9% – Should You Buy?

AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) shares rose 1.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $415.44 and last traded at $412.00. Approximately 5,440,575 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 21% from the average daily volume of 6,895,238 shares. The stock had previously closed at $404.39.

Key Stories Impacting AppLovin

Here are the key news stories impacting AppLovin this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish after strong results: several post‑earnings notes and coverage highlight upbeat analyst commentary following the quarter, which supports a constructive medium‑term case for revenue and profit leverage. Analysts Bullish On AppLovin Corporation (APP) Outlook Following Impressive Results
• Positive Sentiment: Record quarter drove buying momentum — AppLovin posted record revenue, ~84% EBITDA margins and $3.24 EPS (beating estimates), which explains intraday strength and why some investors view the pullback as a buying opportunity. Why Applovin Stock Popped Today
• Neutral Sentiment: Company plans its own social platform after a failed TikTok bid — management is exploring new product/monetization avenues that could expand ad inventory long term, but execution and timing are uncertain. AppLovin plans own social network after failed TikTok bid
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/debate pieces weigh AI edge and the “Profit Engine” versus valuation — coverage (e.g., Zacks) frames the current pullback as a choice point: buy the growth story now or wait for further confirmation. APP Declines 29% in a Month: AI Edge and Profit Engine, Buy or Wait?
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest data in the feeds appears erroneous/noisy (entries show zero shares and NaN changes), so short‑interest signals are unreliable right now; don’t over‑interpret those feeds.
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern about competition and sustainability: coverage highlights rising competitive pressure from Meta and CloudX and broader weakness in software names — a key reason investors sold into a strong quarter. How Low Can AppLovin Stock Go?
• Negative Sentiment: Market punished the stock despite stellar results — articles note the near‑30% decline even after the best quarter in company history, signaling investor skepticism on margin sustainability, future ad pricing, and valuation. The Stock Market Punished AppLovin for Its Best Quarter in Company History

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BTIG Research reduced their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $771.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on AppLovin from $425.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $720.00 price target on AppLovin in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on AppLovin from $710.00 to $585.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AppLovin has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $651.77.

AppLovin Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $139.24 billion, a PE ratio of 42.26, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 2.49. The business’s 50 day moving average is $577.60 and its 200 day moving average is $572.06. The company has a current ratio of 3.32, a quick ratio of 3.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. AppLovin had a net margin of 57.42% and a return on equity of 245.64%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 66.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.73 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that AppLovin Corporation will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AppLovin news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 7,609 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $657.13, for a total value of $5,000,102.17. Following the transaction, the insider owned 277,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,097,294.30. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 30,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $520.29, for a total transaction of $16,070,717.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,553,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,328,384,136.69. This represents a 1.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 160,286 shares of company stock worth $86,062,422 in the last 90 days. 13.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in AppLovin during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of AppLovin by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 760.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 43 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AppLovin

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.