AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Down 5.5% – Here’s What Happened

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) shares dropped 5.5% on Monday . The company traded as low as $224.51 and last traded at $225.21. Approximately 1,417,282 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 5,814,607 shares. The stock had previously closed at $238.22.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $375.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on AppLovin from $500.00 to $335.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on AppLovin from $460.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of AppLovin from $375.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, FBN Securities started coverage on shares of AppLovin in a report on Friday, March 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $385.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AppLovin has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $424.84.

AppLovin Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $76.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.58, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $313.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $298.29. 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 (NASDAQ:APP) last issued 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 17,500 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 88,389 shares in the company, valued at $21,359,201.85. The trade was a 16.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 44,400 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.89, for a total transaction of $18,243,516.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,869,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,179,045,567.88. This trade represents a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 306,900 shares of company stock valued at $106,401,841 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in AppLovin in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Riverview Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 1,640.0% during the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Tucker Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management boosted its stake in AppLovin by 78.4% in the 4th 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. 41.85% of the stock is currently 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.