AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Stock Price Down 5.4% – Here’s Why

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)’s share price fell 5.4% on Friday . The company traded as low as $308.20 and last traded at $311.31. 1,601,542 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 4,199,219 shares. The stock had previously closed at $329.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective (up from $170.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Macquarie raised their price target on shares of AppLovin from $270.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of AppLovin from $250.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded AppLovin from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AppLovin presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $337.71.

AppLovin Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $318.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $180.45. The company has a market capitalization of $106.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.51, a P/E/G ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 2.29. 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 results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. AppLovin had a return on equity of 122.24% and a net margin of 26.85%. The firm’s revenue was up 38.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that AppLovin Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AppLovin

In related news, CFO Herald Y. Chen sold 400 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $366.16, for a total transaction of $146,464.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 207,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,032,757.84. This trade represents a 0.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 15,971 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.07, for a total transaction of $5,000,040.97. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 372,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,526,219.35. The trade was a 4.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 888,867 shares of company stock valued at $284,773,062 over the last 90 days. 14.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Graypoint LLC acquired a new stake in AppLovin during the 4th quarter worth approximately $369,000. HBW Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth $323,000. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its stake in shares of AppLovin by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 8,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,730,000 after purchasing an additional 908 shares during the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC bought a new position in AppLovin during the 4th quarter worth $2,237,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in AppLovin by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,630,000 after buying an additional 1,072 shares during the period. 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.