AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Gap Down on Insider Selling

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $377.06, but opened at $328.47. AppLovin shares last traded at $314.96, with a volume of 9,711,693 shares trading hands.

Specifically, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $422.21, for a total transaction of $18,999,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,914,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,230,527,667.32. The trade was a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 44,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.89, for a total value of $18,243,516.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,869,492 shares in the company, valued at $1,179,045,567.88. This represents a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on APP shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $202.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $220.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on AppLovin from $250.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $442.18.

AppLovin Trading Down 16.9 %

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $367.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $250.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.14 billion, a PE ratio of 68.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.41.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a net margin of 33.54% and a return on equity of 188.55%. As a group, analysts expect that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of AppLovin

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APP. FMR LLC grew its position in AppLovin by 622.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,893,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,030,462,000 after buying an additional 6,801,138 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 4th quarter worth $1,781,922,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 5,421.4% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,084,496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,322,682,000 after acquiring an additional 4,010,520 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth about $828,138,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in AppLovin by 457.2% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,893,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $936,888,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373,885 shares in the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.