AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $303.46, but opened at $344.00. AppLovin shares last traded at $355.34, with a volume of 5,414,070 shares trading hands.

The company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. AppLovin had a net margin of 33.54% and a return on equity of 188.55%. AppLovin’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. FBN Securities began coverage on AppLovin in a report on Friday, March 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $385.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective (down previously from $560.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler increased their target price on AppLovin from $425.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of AppLovin from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AppLovin currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $433.85.

Insider Transactions at AppLovin

In other AppLovin news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.65, for a total value of $4,228,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 88,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,359,201.85. The trade was a 16.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $422.21, for a total transaction 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 $1,230,527,667.32. The trade was a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 306,900 shares of company stock worth $106,401,841. 14.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oxinas Partners Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 4th quarter valued at $1,081,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of AppLovin by 92.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 318,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,643,000 after buying an additional 153,248 shares in the last quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 4th quarter worth approximately $369,000. Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in AppLovin by 42.2% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 42,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,648,000 after acquiring an additional 12,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth $382,000. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AppLovin Stock Down 3.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $111.77 billion, a PE ratio of 72.42, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.39. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $275.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $310.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.41.

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.