AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Down 4% – Should You Sell?

Shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) traded down 4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $326.00 and last traded at $332.57. 2,711,063 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 49% from the average session volume of 5,267,741 shares. The stock had previously closed at $346.29.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on AppLovin from $250.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $460.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Macquarie raised their price target on shares of AppLovin from $270.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $538.00 target price on AppLovin and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AppLovin currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $435.47.

AppLovin Stock 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 firm has a market cap of $92.60 billion, a PE ratio of 60.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $353.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $280.42.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts forecast that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.65, for a total transaction of $64,930,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 621,209 shares in the company, valued at $201,675,501.85. This trade represents a 24.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $422.21, for a total value of $18,999,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,914,492 shares in the company, valued at $1,230,527,667.32. This represents a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 306,900 shares of company stock valued at $106,401,841 in the last ninety days. 14.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Riverview Trust Co increased its position in shares of AppLovin by 1,640.0% during the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 78.4% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Company Profile

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.