AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Stock Price Up 7.6% – Should You Buy?

AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) shares rose 7.6% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $415.71 and last traded at $421.0550. Approximately 1,301,622 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 5,917,061 shares. The stock had previously closed at $391.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on AppLovin from $543.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Zacks Research downgraded AppLovin from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on AppLovin from $740.00 to $660.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Evercore reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AppLovin in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Arete Research set a $340.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $661.95.

AppLovin Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 3.32 and a current ratio of 3.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $424.67 and its 200 day moving average is $550.60. The firm has a market cap of $146.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.44, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.50.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AppLovin news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 62,804 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $486.43, for a total transaction of $30,549,749.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 3,255,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,583,462,445.39. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.04, for a total value of $23,302,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,480,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,155,972,140.56. This trade represents a 1.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 365,244 shares of company stock worth $169,584,607. Corporate insiders own 13.66% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new position in AppLovin during the 4th quarter worth about $9,097,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in AppLovin by 66.9% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 22,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,470,000 after purchasing an additional 9,198 shares in the last quarter. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in AppLovin during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in AppLovin by 261.6% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 5,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,791,000 after purchasing an additional 4,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new position in AppLovin during the 4th quarter worth about $270,000. Institutional investors 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.