AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Stock Price Down 8.4% on Analyst Downgrade

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) shares fell 8.4% during trading on Friday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $630.00 to $450.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. AppLovin traded as low as $239.00 and last traded at $241.75. 3,886,718 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 32% from the average session volume of 5,720,114 shares. The stock had previously closed at $263.83.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a report on Monday, March 17th. Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of AppLovin from $375.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley raised AppLovin from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $470.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on AppLovin from $538.00 to $386.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $424.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at AppLovin

In related news, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.65, for a total transaction of $64,930,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 621,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,675,501.85. The trade was a 24.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 88,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,359,201.85. This represents a 16.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 306,900 shares of company stock worth $106,401,841 over the last ninety days. 14.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AppLovin

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in AppLovin in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Riverview Trust Co boosted its holdings in AppLovin by 1,640.0% in the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Tucker Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $84.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $327.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $293.41.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 expect that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current year.

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.