AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Rating Increased to Overweight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report published on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $350.00 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of $470.00.

APP has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of AppLovin from $575.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. UBS Group raised their target price on AppLovin from $440.00 to $630.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Citigroup upped their price objective on AppLovin from $460.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, FBN Securities assumed coverage on AppLovin in a research note on Friday, March 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $385.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $424.84.

AppLovin Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APP opened at $249.95 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $327.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $293.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.97 billion, a PE ratio of 55.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.39. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $60.67 and a fifty-two week high of $525.15.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a return on equity of 188.55% and a net margin of 33.54%. As a group, equities analysts predict that AppLovin will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AppLovin

In other news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $422.21, for a total transaction of $18,999,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,914,492 shares in the company, valued at $1,230,527,667.32. This trade represents a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 17,500 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 88,389 shares in the company, valued at $21,359,201.85. The trade was a 16.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 306,900 shares of company stock worth $106,401,841. Company insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC boosted its position in AppLovin by 40.7% during the first quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Bay Rivers Group lifted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 73.6% in the 1st quarter. Bay Rivers Group now owns 2,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $570,000 after purchasing an additional 913 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Group boosted its position in shares of AppLovin by 38.5% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 2,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in AppLovin during the first quarter worth approximately $194,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in AppLovin by 657.1% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 7,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,894,000 after purchasing an additional 6,203 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Company Profile

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.