AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Stock Price Up 3.1% – Should You Buy?

Shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) rose 3.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $346.61 and last traded at $342.24. Approximately 1,452,683 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 3,868,238 shares. The stock had previously closed at $332.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on AppLovin from $252.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $200.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of AppLovin from $335.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AppLovin currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $338.06.

AppLovin Stock Up 3.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $114.89 billion, a PE ratio of 103.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 2.29. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $330.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $189.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. AppLovin had a net margin of 26.85% and a return on equity of 122.24%. The company’s revenue was up 38.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that AppLovin Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Katie Kihorany Jansen sold 59,876 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.14, for a total value of $17,132,918.64. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 1,017,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $291,115,402.32. This trade represents a 5.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 593,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.37, for a total transaction of $189,574,199.56. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 3,919,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,251,618,694.88. This represents a 13.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 888,867 shares of company stock worth $284,773,062. Insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in AppLovin in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. 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.