AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Trading 2.5% Higher – Time to Buy?

Shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) rose 2.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $292.43 and last traded at $264.14. Approximately 5,294,605 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 4% from the average daily volume of 5,114,096 shares. The stock had previously closed at $257.76.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on AppLovin from $220.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on AppLovin from $250.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $375.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $325.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $560.00 target price (up previously from $480.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $438.28.

AppLovin Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70. The company has a market capitalization of $92.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.75, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.33. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $360.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $265.20.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a net margin of 33.54% and a return on equity of 188.55%. Equities research analysts predict that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AppLovin news, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 99,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.50, for a total value of $32,620,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 621,209 shares in the company, valued at $204,688,365.50. The trade was a 13.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 44,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.89, for a total transaction of $18,243,516.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,869,492 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 404,371 shares of company stock worth $139,793,507. 14.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 1,640.0% in the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

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.