AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $257.76, but opened at $285.00. AppLovin shares last traded at $272.64, with a volume of 3,096,620 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on AppLovin from $325.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $250.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $440.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of AppLovin from $400.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $538.00 price target on AppLovin and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $438.28.

AppLovin Stock Down 0.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.41. The stock has a market cap of $92.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.33. The business has a fifty day moving average of $358.15 and a 200 day moving average of $265.29.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 44,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.89, for a total value of $18,243,516.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,869,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,179,045,567.88. This trade represents a 1.52 % 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, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.65, for a total value of $4,228,875.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 88,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,359,201.85. The trade was a 16.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 322,871 shares of company stock worth $111,401,882. 14.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AppLovin

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of APP. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in AppLovin by 38.2% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of 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 during the period. Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in shares of AppLovin by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its position in AppLovin by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 5,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. 41.85% of the stock is 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.