AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Trading 2.7% Higher – Should You Buy?

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) shares rose 2.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $377.00 and last traded at $374.37. Approximately 1,412,580 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 6,106,930 shares. The stock had previously closed at $364.49.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on APP. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $525.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $650.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Arete Research set a $200.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on AppLovin from $386.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AppLovin currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $438.10.

AppLovin Stock Up 1.7%

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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $324.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $334.22. The firm has a market cap of $125.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.53.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. AppLovin had a return on equity of 188.55% and a net margin of 33.54%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Craig Scott Billings sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.12, for a total transaction of $4,237,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,987 shares in the company, valued at $1,054,769.44. This represents a 80.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 6,585 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.23, for a total transaction of $2,437,964.55. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 357,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $132,506,427.69. The trade was a 1.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,212,968 shares of company stock valued at $455,062,980 over the last three months. 13.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in AppLovin by 38.2% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 6.7% in 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 increased its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, Vestcor Inc raised its stake in shares of AppLovin by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 4,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.