AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Down 1.5% on Analyst Downgrade

AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP)’s stock price traded down 1.5% on Tuesday after Benchmark lowered their price target on the stock from $500.00 to $440.00. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the stock. AppLovin traded as low as $307.05 and last traded at $307.26. 5,120,676 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 11% from the average daily volume of 5,777,310 shares. The stock had previously closed at $311.98.

APP has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on AppLovin from $700.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Scotiabank restated a “sector outperform” rating and set a $515.00 price target on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on AppLovin from $700.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised AppLovin from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $775.00 target price on AppLovin in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $557.83.

Insider Activity at AppLovin

In related news, CFO Matthew Stumpf sold 9,052 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $5,431,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 177,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $106,470,000. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 33,042 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $486.95, for a total value of $16,089,801.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,369,351 shares in the company, valued at $1,153,755,469.45. This trade represents a 1.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 393,000 shares of company stock valued at $197,297,363 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 12.81% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting AppLovin this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark Co. maintained a “buy” rating but lowered its price target from $500 to $440, implying substantial upside from recent levels. Benchmark lowers AppLovin price target while maintaining buy rating
• Positive Sentiment: AppLovin’s AXON advertising engine and strong cash-flow profile remain central to the bullish thesis. The stock has still delivered roughly sevenfold returns over three years, despite its recent pullback. AppLovin stock looks cheap on earnings while broader checks stay mixed
• Positive Sentiment: Greenhaven Road Capital highlighted AppLovin’s cash-flow multiple in its second-quarter investor letter, potentially supporting the view that the valuation has become more attractive after the decline. AppLovin offers attractive cash flow multiple
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage sentiment remains favorable overall, with AppLovin receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” recommendation. AppLovin given consensus moderate buy recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: A review of second-quarter advertising-software results places AppLovin among peers facing varied operating trends, making sector-wide comparisons important for investors. Q2 rundown of AppLovin versus advertising software stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Weakness across demand-side advertising technology, including declines at The Trade Desk, is weighing on sentiment toward the broader ad-tech group and AppLovin. Demand-side ad tech weakness pressures AppLovin
• Negative Sentiment: AppLovin’s decline reflects concerns about what is driving the selloff, including recent revenue shortfalls and questions about whether growth expectations for AXON can be sustained. What is behind AppLovin’s decline

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in APP. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its stake in AppLovin by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in AppLovin in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AppLovin in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of AppLovin by 84.4% during the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 59 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AppLovin Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 4.30 and a quick ratio of 4.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $442.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $453.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.82 billion, a PE ratio of 23.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 2.54.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $3.76 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.76. AppLovin had a return on equity of 193.10% and a net margin of 64.58%.The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. AppLovin’s quarterly revenue was up 52.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that AppLovin Corporation will post 15.57 EPS for the current fiscal 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.