AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Down 5.5%

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)’s stock price fell 5.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $66.29 and last traded at $67.15. 1,388,805 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 4,222,926 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.09.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on APP shares. Wedbush upped their price objective on AppLovin from $58.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. HSBC initiated coverage on AppLovin in a research note on Monday, December 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $53.20 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on AppLovin from $59.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on AppLovin from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded AppLovin from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AppLovin has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.04.

AppLovin Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $23.67 billion, a PE ratio of 69.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.88. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $953.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $928.66 million. AppLovin had a return on equity of 24.69% and a net margin of 10.84%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.21) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AppLovin Co. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AppLovin

In other AppLovin news, CFO Matthew Stumpf sold 2,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.30, for a total value of $175,657.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 362,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,931,311.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other AppLovin news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 2,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.76, for a total value of $166,926.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 546,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,569,305.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Matthew Stumpf sold 2,775 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.30, for a total transaction of $175,657.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 362,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,931,311.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,215 shares of company stock worth $666,315 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.43% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in AppLovin by 8.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,099,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $723,245,000 after purchasing an additional 1,411,453 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,335,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,479,000 after buying an additional 195,030 shares during the period. Spruce House Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in AppLovin by 33.7% during the 4th quarter. Spruce House Investment Management LLC now owns 5,000,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,259,199 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in AppLovin during the 4th quarter valued at about $165,057,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in AppLovin by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,040,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,630,000 after acquiring an additional 144,035 shares in 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.