AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Trading Up 1.3% – Should You Buy?

Shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) rose 1.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $331.36 and last traded at $324.59. Approximately 2,762,325 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 6,321,774 shares. The stock had previously closed at $320.49.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on AppLovin from $460.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group raised their target price on AppLovin from $440.00 to $630.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $560.00 price target (up previously from $480.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $452.29.

AppLovin Stock Performance

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 market cap of $109.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.76, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $367.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $254.18.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 EPS 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at AppLovin

In other news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were 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 directly owns 2,914,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,230,527,667.32. This trade represents a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 99,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.50, for a total transaction of $32,620,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 621,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $204,688,365.50. This trade represents a 13.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 224,872 shares of company stock worth $82,158,554. 14.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the fourth quarter worth about $112,000. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of AppLovin by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 2,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $804,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in AppLovin during the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,003,000. Brucke Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in AppLovin during the 4th quarter worth approximately $263,000. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in AppLovin during the 4th quarter worth approximately $470,000. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AppLovin Company Profile

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.