AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Down 13.6% Following Insider Selling

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) fell 13.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $288.92 and last traded at $325.82. 14,780,647 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 155% from the average session volume of 5,794,863 shares. The stock had previously closed at $377.06.

Specifically, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $422.21, for a total transaction of $18,999,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,914,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,230,527,667.32. This represents a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 44,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.89, for a total value of $18,243,516.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,869,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,179,045,567.88. The trade was a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of AppLovin from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $80.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Daiwa America raised AppLovin from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Macquarie lifted their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $270.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AppLovin currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $442.18.

AppLovin Trading Down 11.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $111.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 2.41. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $367.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $250.18.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AppLovin by 38.2% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in AppLovin by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in AppLovin by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in AppLovin by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,223,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC grew its position in shares of AppLovin by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 5,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 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.