AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Down 5.5% – Should You Sell?

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)’s share price fell 5.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $224.51 and last traded at $225.21. 1,417,282 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 5,814,607 shares. The stock had previously closed at $238.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of AppLovin from $460.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group decreased their target price on AppLovin from $630.00 to $450.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of AppLovin from $375.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $500.00 to $335.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $424.84.

AppLovin Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $313.27 and a 200-day moving average of $298.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 2.41.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts expect that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was 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 directly owns 621,209 shares in the company, valued at $201,675,501.85. This represents a 24.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 trade represents a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 306,900 shares of company stock valued at $106,401,841 in the last quarter. 14.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AppLovin

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in AppLovin in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Riverview Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 1,640.0% during the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of AppLovin by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in 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.