Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP)

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors bought 56,988 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 13% compared to the average volume of 50,296 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Benchmark raised their price objective on AppLovin from $375.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of AppLovin from $440.00 to $630.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $325.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Macquarie raised their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $270.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $460.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AppLovin currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $452.29.

AppLovin Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:APP traded up $3.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $323.70. 5,524,124 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,404,089. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $368.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $251.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.30. 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 has a 12 month low of $57.40 and a 12 month high of $525.15.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that AppLovin will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AppLovin

In other AppLovin news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 1,676 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.39, for a total value of $597,309.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,058,635 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,090,066,927.65. The trade was a 0.05 % 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, Director Dawson Alyssa Harvey sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.27, for a total value of $203,135.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,684 shares in the company, valued at $2,715,508.68. The trade was a 6.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 224,872 shares of company stock valued at $82,158,554. 14.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AppLovin

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AppLovin by 38.2% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in AppLovin by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in AppLovin by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in AppLovin by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,223,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 5,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 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.