AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Insider Sells 7,609 Shares

AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 7,609 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $657.13, for a total value of $5,000,102.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 277,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,097,294.30. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

AppLovin Trading Up 3.9%

Shares of AppLovin stock traded up $27.00 during trading on Friday, reaching $721.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,824,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,824,037. The company has a quick ratio of 3.25, a current ratio of 3.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. AppLovin Corporation has a 52-week low of $200.50 and a 52-week high of $745.61. The company has a market cap of $243.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.55, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 2.51. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $614.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $509.01.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. AppLovin had a net margin of 51.27% and a return on equity of 258.49%. AppLovin’s quarterly revenue was up 68.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AppLovin Corporation will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current year.

AppLovin News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting AppLovin this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and margin commentary — Q3 margin strength is being highlighted as a driver of accelerating profitability and operating leverage, supporting higher earnings expectations and reinforcing the bull case. AppLovin’s Margin Engine Fuels its Accelerating Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish coverage and “case against the shorts” narrative — MarketBeat and other outlets argue fundamentals, rising analyst targets and heavy short interest could produce continued upside or a short squeeze if results keep coming in strong. Don’t Bet Against AppLovin: The Case Against the Shorts
• Positive Sentiment: Price-target upgrades and broker notes — Recent upgrades/raised targets (including Benchmark/Wedbush commentary about AppLovin’s ad leadership) add momentum and give traders a reason to buy into the narrative. AppLovin Seen as Dominant in Mobile Ads as Wedbush Highlights Unity’s Turnaround
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider sale disclosed — An executive sold ~7,609 shares at ~$657 on Dec 18 (2.67% reduction in her holding). The size is material in $ terms but not a major position shift; investors often view routine insider sales as neutral unless part of a pattern. SEC Filing — Insider Sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Options market interest — Elevated options activity suggests institutional players are positioning for further movement, but flow can indicate both speculative and hedging behavior. AppLovin’s Options: A Look at What the Big Money is Thinking
• Negative Sentiment: High valuation and public criticism — Prominent commentators (e.g., Jim Cramer) have flagged APP’s rich multiple and suggested trimming exposure after a big run, which can pressure sentiment among retail and tactical traders. Jim Cramer on AppLovin: “I’m Not Lovin’ as Much”
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and short-seller overhang — Recent reporting and price?target downdrafts earlier in the year tied to a class?action suit and short?seller reports remain a tail?risk; those issues have driven past volatility and could produce downside if new negative news emerges. AppLovin Price Prediction and Forecast

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APP has been the subject of several research reports. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $771.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $775.00 price target on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $800.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Wedbush lifted their price target on AppLovin from $745.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of AppLovin from $480.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AppLovin presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $695.90.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AppLovin

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,954,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,930,776,000 after purchasing an additional 7,051,663 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 111.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,852,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,516,471,000 after acquiring an additional 6,237,051 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in AppLovin during the second quarter valued at $951,541,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of AppLovin in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,456,108,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 36.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,588,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,745,752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,769,400 shares during the period. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AppLovin Company Profile

AppLovin Corporation is a Palo Alto–based mobile technology company that provides software and services to help app developers grow and monetize their businesses. The company operates a data-driven advertising and marketing platform that connects app publishers and advertisers, delivering tools for user acquisition, monetization, analytics and creative optimization. AppLovin’s technology is integrated into a broad set of mobile applications through software development kits (SDKs) and ad products designed to maximize revenue and engagement for developers.

Key components of AppLovin’s offering include an ad mediation and exchange platform that enables publishers to manage and monetize inventory across multiple demand sources, and a user-acquisition platform that helps advertisers target and scale campaigns.