AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Upgraded at Morgan Stanley

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $350.00 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of $470.00. Morgan Stanley’s target price points to a potential upside of 27.13% from the company’s previous close.

APP has been the topic of a number of other reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on AppLovin from $440.00 to $630.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on AppLovin from $220.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on AppLovin from $575.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, FBN Securities initiated coverage on AppLovin in a research report on Friday, March 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $385.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $434.32.

AppLovin Stock Performance

Shares of APP stock traded up $0.35 during trading on Thursday, reaching $275.31. 2,604,289 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,686,712. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.59 billion, a PE ratio of 60.64, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.39. AppLovin has a twelve month low of $60.67 and a twelve month high of $525.15. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $331.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $291.64.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 188.55% and a net margin of 33.54%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AppLovin will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AppLovin

In other AppLovin news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $422.21, for a total value of $18,999,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,914,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,230,527,667.32. This trade represents a 1.52 % 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 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.65, for a total value of $4,228,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 88,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,359,201.85. The trade was a 16.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 306,900 shares of company stock worth $106,401,841. 14.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AppLovin

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APP. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of AppLovin in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of AppLovin in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Riverview Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 1,640.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AppLovin in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

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.