AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Rating Increased to Overweight at Morgan Stanley

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $350.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $470.00. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 40.03% from the company’s current price.

APP has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America lifted their price target on AppLovin from $375.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Arete Research set a $200.00 price objective on AppLovin in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $575.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $424.84.

AppLovin Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APP opened at $249.95 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.41. The business has a 50-day moving average of $327.20 and a 200-day moving average of $293.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.06, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.39. AppLovin has a fifty-two week low of $60.67 and a fifty-two week high of $525.15.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last posted 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 return on equity of 188.55% and a net margin of 33.54%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AppLovin will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AppLovin

In other AppLovin news, 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 transaction of $18,243,516.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.65, for a total transaction of $4,228,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 88,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,359,201.85. The trade was a 16.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 306,900 shares of company stock valued at $106,401,841. 14.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Riverview Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 1,640.0% during the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in AppLovin during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management increased its position in AppLovin by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is currently 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.