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

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $272.38, but opened at $255.93. AppLovin shares last traded at $256.21, with a volume of 2,239,437 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on APP shares. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of AppLovin from $440.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $538.00 price target on AppLovin and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Arete Research set a $200.00 price target on shares of AppLovin in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $435.47.

AppLovin Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $349.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $286.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.11 billion, a PE ratio of 62.27, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.33.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a return on equity of 188.55% and a net margin of 33.54%. On average, equities analysts expect that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AppLovin news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.65, for a total value of $64,930,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 621,209 shares in the company, valued at $201,675,501.85. The trade was a 24.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 306,900 shares of company stock valued at $106,401,841. Company insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AppLovin

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Riverview Trust Co grew its stake in shares of AppLovin by 1,640.0% in the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 78.4% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.