AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Gap Down Following Insider Selling

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) shares gapped down prior to trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $318.24, but opened at $309.00. AppLovin shares last traded at $309.94, with a volume of 1,995,050 shares trading hands.

Specifically, CFO Matthew Stumpf sold 21,101 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.67, for a total transaction of $7,019,669.67. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 213,336 shares in the company, valued at $70,970,487.12. The trade was a 9.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Craig Scott Billings sold 18,000 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.94, for a total transaction of $5,740,920.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $952,673.78. This represents a 85.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In related news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 593,588 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.37, for a total value of $189,574,199.56. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 3,919,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,251,618,694.88. This represents a 13.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on APP. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on AppLovin from $250.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on AppLovin from $185.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 price target (up previously from $170.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.96.

AppLovin Stock Up 4.7 %

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $181.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.41. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $111.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.00, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 1.86.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. AppLovin had a return on equity of 122.24% and a net margin of 26.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 38.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that AppLovin Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AppLovin

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in AppLovin by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 2.2% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 2,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. grew its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 50.0% during the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AppLovin by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 33,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,371,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of AppLovin by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 4,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $626,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. 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.