AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Stock Price Down 13.6% After Insider Selling

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) dropped 13.6% during trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $288.92 and last traded at $325.82. Approximately 14,780,647 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 155% from the average daily volume of 5,794,863 shares. The stock had previously closed at $377.06.

Specifically, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 44,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.89, for a total value of $18,243,516.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,869,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,179,045,567.88. This trade represents a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Daiwa America raised AppLovin from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Benchmark increased their price objective on AppLovin from $375.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 target price (up previously from $170.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AppLovin has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $442.18.

AppLovin Price 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 has a market cap of $111.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.91, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $368.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $250.75.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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, equities research analysts forecast that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AppLovin in the 4th quarter worth $658,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC purchased a new position in AppLovin in the 4th quarter worth $285,000. Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in AppLovin by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 5,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,798,000 after acquiring an additional 1,416 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in AppLovin by 235.9% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 30,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,876,000 after acquiring an additional 21,419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in AppLovin by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,223,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.