AppLovin Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:APP)

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 27,533 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 50% compared to the typical volume of 18,374 call options.

AppLovin Trading Up 0.2 %

APP traded up $0.53 on Thursday, reaching $284.49. 7,159,306 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,312,054. The company has a market cap of $95.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.86. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.82. AppLovin has a one year low of $35.79 and a one year high of $302.55. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. AppLovin had a net margin of 26.85% and a return on equity of 122.24%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 38.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AppLovin will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other AppLovin news, Director Dawson Alyssa Harvey sold 1,500 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.90, for a total transaction of $131,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $900,711.30. The trade was a 12.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Eduardo Vivas sold 229,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.35, for a total transaction of $19,791,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,412,475 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $640,067,216.25. This represents a 3.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 404,866 shares of company stock worth $34,670,777 in the last quarter. 14.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in AppLovin during the third quarter valued at $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in AppLovin during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in AppLovin in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in AppLovin in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.85% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on APP shares. BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of AppLovin from $202.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on AppLovin from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $180.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of AppLovin from $181.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of AppLovin from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $103.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $194.31.

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.