AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 6,112,874 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 14% from the previous session’s volume of 5,362,742 shares.The stock last traded at $273.20 and had previously closed at $261.70.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on APP shares. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $400.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark upped their price objective on 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 lifted their target price on AppLovin from $220.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on AppLovin from $460.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $435.47.

AppLovin Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $353.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $280.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70. The company has a market capitalization of $93.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.33.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a return on equity of 188.55% and a net margin of 33.54%. As a group, equities analysts expect that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was sold at an average price of $241.65, for a total transaction of $4,228,875.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 88,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,359,201.85. The trade was a 16.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $422.21, for a total value of $18,999,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,914,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,230,527,667.32. The trade was a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 306,900 shares of company stock worth $106,401,841. Insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AppLovin

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APP. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in AppLovin in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Riverview Trust Co lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management grew its position in AppLovin by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

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.