AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Trading 0.6% Higher - Still a Buy?

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) shares shot up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $309.56 and last traded at $308.63. 2,468,933 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 5,217,479 shares. The stock had previously closed at $306.74.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $325.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $460.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America upped their target price on AppLovin from $375.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark lifted their price target on AppLovin from $375.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on AppLovin from $220.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AppLovin currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $438.28.

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AppLovin Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $354.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $278.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.25, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.33.

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

Insider Activity at AppLovin

In related news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.65, for a total value of $4,228,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 88,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,359,201.85. This trade represents a 16.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.65, for a total value of $64,930,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 621,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $201,675,501.85. The trade was a 24.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 306,900 shares of company stock valued at $106,401,841. 14.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in AppLovin by 64.9% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 7,942 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,037,000 after acquiring an additional 3,126 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,388,023 shares of the company's stock worth $703,406,000 after purchasing an additional 428,419 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management increased its position in shares of AppLovin by 328.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 106,121 shares of the company's stock worth $13,854,000 after purchasing an additional 81,331 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in AppLovin by 38.8% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 25,174 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,286,000 after buying an additional 7,039 shares during the period. Finally, Oxinas Partners Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in AppLovin in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,081,000. 41.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AppLovin

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.