AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Trading 1.4% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP)’s share price shot up 1.4% during trading on Tuesday after Arete Research upgraded the stock from a sell rating to a neutral rating. Arete Research now has a $340.00 price target on the stock. AppLovin traded as high as $444.16 and last traded at $438.89. 5,181,385 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 6,715,462 shares. The stock had previously closed at $432.98.

APP has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Evercore restated a “buy” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $700.00 price target on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. BTIG Research lowered their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $771.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $465.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $658.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AppLovin news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 7,609 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $657.13, for a total value of $5,000,102.17. Following the sale, the insider owned 277,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,097,294.30. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Dawson Alyssa Harvey sold 150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $693.32, for a total transaction of $103,998.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,961,402.28. This trade represents a 5.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 13.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AppLovin News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting AppLovin this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts flagged AppLovin’s strong Q4 beat (EPS $3.24 vs. $2.89 est.; revenue $1.66B, +66% YoY) and upbeat commentary about AI/software recovery, supporting renewed buy-side interest. Analysts Positive on AppLovin Corporation (APP) After Q4 Results
• Positive Sentiment: AppLovin was among several ad/tech names that jumped in the afternoon as a sector rally gained traction—momentum across peers likely amplified buying in APP. Health Catalyst, AppLovin, PubMatic, and Pegasystems Stocks Trade Up, What You Need To Know
• Positive Sentiment: Management participation at the Morgan Stanley TMT conference (fireside chat) and the published transcript increased investor access to guidance and strategy, helping sentiment. AppLovin Presents at Morgan Stanley TMT Conference (Transcript)
• Neutral Sentiment: Arete Research upgraded APP from sell to neutral, but set a $340 price target—an improvement in tone but a target below current levels, leaving the outlook mixed. Arete Upgrades AppLovin to Neutral
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest figures in public feeds appear garbled (zeros/NaN) and provide no clear signal about short positioning or squeeze risk at this time.
• Negative Sentiment: An ongoing SEC investigation and tighter global app-store regulation create a regulatory overhang that could raise compliance costs, disclosure risk and long-term model uncertainty. AppLovin Regulatory Scrutiny Raises Questions For Growth And Profitability

Institutional Trading of AppLovin

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of APP. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of AppLovin by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of AppLovin in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of AppLovin in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in AppLovin by 760.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 43 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AppLovin Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $162.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 3.32 and a quick ratio of 3.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $522.79 and its 200 day moving average is $571.72.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. AppLovin had a net margin of 57.42% and a return on equity of 245.64%. The business’s revenue was up 66.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.73 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that AppLovin Corporation will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current year.

About AppLovin

AppLovin Corporation is a Palo Alto–based mobile technology company that provides software and services to help app developers grow and monetize their businesses. The company operates a data-driven advertising and marketing platform that connects app publishers and advertisers, delivering tools for user acquisition, monetization, analytics and creative optimization. AppLovin’s technology is integrated into a broad set of mobile applications through software development kits (SDKs) and ad products designed to maximize revenue and engagement for developers.

Key components of AppLovin’s offering include an ad mediation and exchange platform that enables publishers to manage and monetize inventory across multiple demand sources, and a user-acquisition platform that helps advertisers target and scale campaigns.