AppLovin’s (APP) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $700.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 23.28% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on AppLovin from $740.00 to $716.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on AppLovin from $560.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Argus began coverage on AppLovin in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $520.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on AppLovin from $710.00 to $585.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AppLovin currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $664.35.

AppLovin Trading Up 10.4%

NASDAQ APP opened at $567.83 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $450.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $521.20. AppLovin has a twelve month low of $320.00 and a twelve month high of $745.61. The company has a quick ratio of 3.24, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company has a market capitalization of $190.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.78, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 2.37.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.12. AppLovin had a return on equity of 219.37% and a net margin of 64.29%.The business had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 58.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that AppLovin will post 15.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Eduardo Vivas sold 163,910 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.49, for a total value of $74,331,545.90. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,969,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,160,545,043.18. This trade represents a 2.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 2,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.90, for a total value of $1,412,432.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 17,945 shares in the company, valued at $8,773,310.50. The trade was a 13.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 454,964 shares of company stock valued at $213,046,785 over the last ninety days. 13.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AppLovin

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 73.5% during the third quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 76,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,664,000 after purchasing an additional 32,510 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in AppLovin by 131.7% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 6,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,347,000 after acquiring an additional 3,438 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. acquired a new stake in AppLovin in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,958,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in AppLovin by 946.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 326,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,962,000 after acquiring an additional 295,753 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in AppLovin by 138.3% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 10,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,253,000 after acquiring an additional 5,859 shares in the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More AppLovin News

Here are the key news stories impacting AppLovin this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AppLovin was highlighted by Morgan Stanley as a buy, with the firm reiterating an Overweight rating and a $720 price target. That upbeat call helped send the stock sharply higher and suggests Wall Street still sees more upside in the mobile advertising platform. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Another report noted AppLovin benefited from speculation that Meta Platforms may not bid on some mobile advertising traffic, which could leave more market share and inventory opportunities for AppLovin. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several SEC filings showed CTO Vasily Shikin sold shares in multiple transactions on May 22. While insider sales can weigh on sentiment, the dollar amounts were small relative to his remaining holdings, so the moves may be viewed more as routine portfolio management than a major red flag.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market headlines also referenced AppLovin as a recent big mover and a top performer in the S&P 500, reinforcing that momentum and analyst optimism have been key drivers behind the stock’s strength.

About AppLovin

AppLovin Corporation is a Palo Alto–based mobile technology company that provides software and services to help app developers grow and monetize their businesses. The company operates a data-driven advertising and marketing platform that connects app publishers and advertisers, delivering tools for user acquisition, monetization, analytics and creative optimization. AppLovin’s technology is integrated into a broad set of mobile applications through software development kits (SDKs) and ad products designed to maximize revenue and engagement for developers.

Key components of AppLovin’s offering include an ad mediation and exchange platform that enables publishers to manage and monetize inventory across multiple demand sources, and a user-acquisition platform that helps advertisers target and scale campaigns.