AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Trading Down 8.3% Following Insider Selling

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) fell 8.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $367.12 and last traded at $376.54. 4,871,838 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 9% from the average session volume of 5,377,460 shares. The stock had previously closed at $410.45.

Specifically, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $1,230,527,667.32. This represents a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 44,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,179,045,567.88. The trade was a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of AppLovin from $450.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on AppLovin from $360.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on AppLovin from $400.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Macquarie raised their price target on AppLovin from $270.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $442.18.

AppLovin Stock Performance

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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $366.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $248.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.30.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts predict that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AppLovin

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in AppLovin by 75.5% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 13,851,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,485,409,000 after buying an additional 5,957,885 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its position in AppLovin by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 10,820,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,382,307,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,009 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,781,922,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of AppLovin by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,388,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $703,406,000 after purchasing an additional 428,419 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AppLovin by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,519,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,462,144,000 after purchasing an additional 573,310 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.