Short Interest in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) Grows By 19.2%

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) saw a large increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 20,600,000 shares, an increase of 19.2% from the September 15th total of 17,280,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,000,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.2 days. Approximately 10.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

AppLovin Price Performance

Shares of AppLovin stock traded down $1.21 on Monday, reaching $145.79. 4,121,785 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,184,966. 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 $148.48. The firm has a market cap of $48.73 billion, a PE ratio of 62.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $104.70 and its 200-day moving average is $87.78.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. AppLovin had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 84.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 44.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.22 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that AppLovin will post 3.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AppLovin

In related news, CMO Katie Kihorany Jansen sold 72,307 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $5,472,193.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 1,164,396 shares in the company, valued at $88,121,489.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other AppLovin news, CMO Katie Kihorany Jansen sold 72,307 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $5,472,193.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 1,164,396 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,121,489.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Matthew Stumpf sold 60,615 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.63, for a total value of $4,826,772.45. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 254,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,262,490.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 610,094 shares of company stock worth $51,022,478. 14.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in AppLovin by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. American Trust lifted its position in shares of AppLovin by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. American Trust now owns 5,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $384,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AppLovin by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 28,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,946,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 2,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 9.5% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on APP. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of AppLovin from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of AppLovin from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $103.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on AppLovin from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Benchmark increased their price objective on AppLovin from $48.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their target price on AppLovin from $114.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.01.

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.