AppLovin Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:APP)

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 23,237 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 87% compared to the average volume of 12,419 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (up previously from $97.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $48.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on AppLovin from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wedbush cut their target price on shares of AppLovin from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.94.

AppLovin Price Performance

AppLovin stock traded up $11.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $97.57. 6,082,867 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,051,688. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.27, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 2.28. AppLovin has a one year low of $34.45 and a one year high of $98.10. The stock has a market cap of $32.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $82.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.41.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.12. AppLovin had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 84.16%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 44.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that AppLovin will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AppLovin

In related news, Director Dawson Alyssa Harvey sold 4,371 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.65, for a total transaction of $330,666.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $874,892.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other AppLovin news, CMO Katie Kihorany Jansen sold 72,307 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $5,472,193.76. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 1,164,396 shares in the company, valued at $88,121,489.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dawson Alyssa Harvey sold 4,371 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.65, for a total value of $330,666.15. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $874,892.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 790,081 shares of company stock worth $66,857,545 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 2nd quarter valued at about $241,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in AppLovin by 73.0% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 893,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,344,000 after purchasing an additional 376,835 shares during the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 5.6% during the second quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $952,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 115.3% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 30,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,548,000 after purchasing an additional 16,397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of AppLovin by 510.9% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 27,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,305,000 after buying an additional 23,163 shares during the period. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by 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.