AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Reaches New 12-Month High at $74.08

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $74.08 and last traded at $73.63, with a volume of 252479 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.60.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on APP shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of AppLovin from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. TheStreet upgraded shares of AppLovin from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. HSBC started coverage on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Monday, December 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $53.20 price target for the company. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of AppLovin from $58.50 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $59.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.04.

AppLovin Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $23.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.88. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $55.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.14. AppLovin had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 24.69%. The business had revenue of $953.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.66 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.21) earnings per share. AppLovin’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AppLovin Co. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Matthew Stumpf sold 2,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.30, for a total transaction of $175,657.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 362,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,931,311.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other AppLovin news, Director Craig Scott Billings sold 5,550 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total transaction of $323,731.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,739 shares in the company, valued at $743,065.87. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Matthew Stumpf sold 2,775 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.30, for a total transaction of $175,657.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 362,264 shares in the company, valued at $22,931,311.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,215 shares of company stock valued at $666,315. 12.43% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AppLovin

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of APP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in AppLovin by 99.0% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 981 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 109.0% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 57,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,180,000 after purchasing an additional 30,112 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 21.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 39,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,155,000 after purchasing an additional 6,942 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 43.5% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 9,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 2,858 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 802.0% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 22,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,253,000 after purchasing an additional 20,227 shares in the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.