AppLovin Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:APP)

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Investors bought 27,533 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 50% compared to the typical volume of 18,374 call options.

AppLovin Price Performance

Shares of APP traded down $1.82 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $282.67. The stock had a trading volume of 423,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,294,568. AppLovin has a 52 week low of $35.79 and a 52 week high of $302.55. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $155.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.06. The company has a market capitalization of $94.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.86.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. AppLovin had a return on equity of 122.24% and a net margin of 26.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that AppLovin will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on APP. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of AppLovin from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $80.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of AppLovin from $180.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of AppLovin from $202.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $194.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AppLovin news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 14,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.98, for a total value of $1,274,656.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 352,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,728,387.68. The trade was a 3.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Katie Kihorany Jansen sold 59,876 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.14, for a total transaction of $17,132,918.64. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 1,017,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $291,115,402.32. This represents a 5.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 235,542 shares of company stock worth $32,012,275 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in AppLovin during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in AppLovin in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. 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.