AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $354.93, but opened at $345.68. AppLovin shares last traded at $337.05, with a volume of 721,394 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of AppLovin from $250.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of AppLovin from $250.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group upgraded AppLovin from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Daiwa America raised AppLovin from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.71.

AppLovin Stock Down 9.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $107.92 billion, a PE ratio of 97.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 2.29. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $305.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.33. AppLovin had a return on equity of 122.24% and a net margin of 26.85%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. AppLovin’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that AppLovin Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AppLovin

In other AppLovin news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 1,676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.39, for a total transaction of $597,309.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,058,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,090,066,927.65. This trade represents a 0.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 593,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.37, for a total transaction of $189,574,199.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 3,919,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,251,618,694.88. The trade was a 13.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 888,867 shares of company stock valued at $284,773,062. Insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in AppLovin by 4.0% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in AppLovin by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its stake in AppLovin by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 2,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. raised its stake in shares of AppLovin by 50.0% during the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 300 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.