AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Stock Price Up 3.4% – Should You Buy?

Shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) were up 3.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $304.00 and last traded at $302.93. Approximately 2,899,635 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 5,179,792 shares. The stock had previously closed at $292.89.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $220.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $538.00 target price on shares of AppLovin and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of AppLovin from $440.00 to $630.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Arete Research set a $200.00 price target on shares of AppLovin in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AppLovin currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $438.28.

AppLovin Trading Up 6.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.33. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $357.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $269.20.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 15,971 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.07, for a total transaction of $5,000,040.97. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 372,205 shares in the company, valued at $116,526,219.35. This trade represents a 4.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.65, for a total value of $4,228,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 88,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 322,871 shares of company stock valued at $111,401,882. Company insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in AppLovin in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in AppLovin in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in AppLovin in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Riverview Trust Co lifted its holdings in AppLovin by 1,640.0% in the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in AppLovin in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by 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.