AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Trading 0.9% Higher – Time to Buy?

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) traded up 0.9% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $349.39 and last traded at $344.94. 1,297,630 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 2,997,097 shares. The stock had previously closed at $341.78.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Daiwa America raised shares of AppLovin from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of AppLovin from $252.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on AppLovin from $335.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AppLovin has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.71.

AppLovin Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $117.68 billion, a PE ratio of 106.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 2.28. The business has a 50 day moving average of $302.03 and a 200 day moving average of $171.60. 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) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.33. AppLovin had a net margin of 26.85% and a return on equity of 122.24%. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that AppLovin Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Matthew Stumpf sold 21,101 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.67, for a total value of $7,019,669.67. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 213,336 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,970,487.12. This represents a 9.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 1,676 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,058,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,090,066,927.65. This represents a 0.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 888,867 shares of company stock valued at $284,773,062 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AppLovin

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of AppLovin during the third quarter valued at $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in AppLovin in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in AppLovin during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. 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.