AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Up 9.7% - Still a Buy?

Shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) rose 9.7% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $268.00 and last traded at $260.79. Approximately 3,213,852 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 5,837,599 shares. The stock had previously closed at $237.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on AppLovin from $538.00 to $386.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of AppLovin from $375.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on AppLovin from $475.00 to $270.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Arete Research set a $200.00 price objective on AppLovin in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $414.05.

AppLovin Trading Up 7.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $86.66 billion, a PE ratio of 56.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.39. The firm's 50 day moving average is $305.55 and its 200 day moving average is $298.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.41.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a net margin of 33.54% and a return on equity of 188.55%. As a group, equities analysts predict that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.65, for a total transaction of $64,930,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 621,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at $201,675,501.85. This represents a 24.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 17,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.65, for a total transaction of $4,228,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 88,389 shares in the company, valued at $21,359,201.85. This represents a 16.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 306,900 shares of company stock valued at $106,401,841 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 14.69% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AppLovin

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of AppLovin by 75.5% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 13,851,122 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,485,409,000 after purchasing an additional 5,957,885 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,781,922,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its position in shares of AppLovin by 5,421.4% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,084,496 shares of the company's stock worth $1,322,682,000 after purchasing an additional 4,010,520 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AppLovin in the 4th quarter worth approximately $828,138,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in AppLovin by 457.2% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,893,148 shares of the company's stock valued at $936,888,000 after buying an additional 2,373,885 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.85% of the company's stock.

AppLovin Company Profile

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.

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