AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Upgraded by Morgan Stanley to Overweight Rating

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Morgan Stanley from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $350.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $470.00. Morgan Stanley's target price would indicate a potential upside of 46.81% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on APP. Benchmark upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on AppLovin from $325.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Arete Research set a $200.00 price target on AppLovin in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $650.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin in a report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $424.84.

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AppLovin Stock Down 4.6 %

NASDAQ APP traded down $11.55 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $238.40. 4,187,077 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,758,572. AppLovin has a 52 week low of $60.67 and a 52 week high of $525.15. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $327.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $294.56. The company has a market cap of $81.05 billion, a PE ratio of 52.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.39. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 research analysts forecast that AppLovin will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AppLovin

In other AppLovin 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 transaction of $4,228,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 88,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,359,201.85. This represents a 16.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $422.21, for a total value of $18,999,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,914,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,230,527,667.32. This trade represents a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 306,900 shares of company stock valued at $106,401,841 in the last ninety days. 14.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AppLovin

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in AppLovin by 146.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 6,412 shares of the company's stock worth $837,000 after buying an additional 3,812 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of AppLovin by 4.0% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,003 shares of the company's stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in shares of AppLovin by 15.3% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 67,606 shares of the company's stock worth $8,826,000 after purchasing an additional 8,949 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in AppLovin by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 87,475 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,420,000 after purchasing an additional 9,530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in AppLovin by 92.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 318,992 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,643,000 after purchasing an additional 153,248 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.