AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $160.00 to $200.00. The stock had previously closed at $168.55, but opened at $230.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. AppLovin shares last traded at $249.29, with a volume of 5,208,085 shares trading hands.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on APP. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on AppLovin from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $181.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of AppLovin from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $103.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on AppLovin from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.72.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Dawson Alyssa Harvey sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.90, for a total transaction of $131,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $900,711.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other AppLovin news, CMO Katie Kihorany Jansen sold 72,307 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $5,472,193.76. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 1,164,396 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,121,489.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Dawson Alyssa Harvey sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.90, for a total transaction of $131,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $900,711.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 610,094 shares of company stock valued at $51,022,478 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AppLovin

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APP. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in shares of AppLovin by 9,470.1% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 250,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,336,000 after buying an additional 248,022 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AppLovin by 2,081.4% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 16,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,127,000 after acquiring an additional 15,590 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 167.0% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 16,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,118,000 after purchasing an additional 10,099 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in AppLovin by 73.0% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 893,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,344,000 after purchasing an additional 376,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE purchased a new stake in AppLovin during the third quarter valued at $7,086,000. Institutional investors own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Stock Up 44.5 %

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $132.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.27, a current ratio of 2.28 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The firm has a market cap of $81.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.86.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. AppLovin had a return on equity of 84.16% and a net margin of 20.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 44.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that AppLovin Co. will post 3.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.