AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Trading 4.6% Higher - Still a Buy?

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) shares shot up 4.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $239.95 and last traded at $238.67. 1,695,154 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 5,815,937 shares. The stock had previously closed at $228.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of AppLovin from $375.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of AppLovin from $460.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $500.00 to $335.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on AppLovin from $475.00 to $270.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $414.05.

AppLovin Price Performance

The business's fifty day moving average price is $300.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $298.16. The company has a market capitalization of $90.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts predict that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AppLovin

In related news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $422.21, for a total transaction of $18,999,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,914,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,230,527,667.32. This trade represents a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 306,900 shares of company stock worth $106,401,841 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 14.69% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of APP. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 75.5% during the fourth 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. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AppLovin by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,519,445 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,462,144,000 after acquiring an additional 573,310 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of AppLovin by 68.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,018,990 shares of the company's stock worth $977,639,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222,074 shares during the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by 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.