AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $314.03, but opened at $328.09. AppLovin shares last traded at $329.51, with a volume of 1,146,698 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $460.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $375.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Arete Research set a $200.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $375.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $220.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AppLovin presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $438.28.

AppLovin Stock Up 6.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $113.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.33. The business’s 50-day moving average is $353.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $276.60. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a net margin of 33.54% and a return on equity of 188.55%. Equities analysts anticipate that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AppLovin

In related news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,914,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,230,527,667.32. This represents a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.65, for a total transaction of $64,930,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 621,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $201,675,501.85. This represents a 24.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 306,900 shares of company stock worth $106,401,841. 14.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of APP. FMR LLC grew its position in AppLovin by 622.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,893,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,030,462,000 after purchasing an additional 6,801,138 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in AppLovin during the 4th quarter worth $1,781,922,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its position in AppLovin by 5,421.4% during the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,084,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,322,682,000 after purchasing an additional 4,010,520 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AppLovin during the 4th quarter worth $828,138,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in AppLovin by 457.2% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,893,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $936,888,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373,885 shares during 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.