AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Trading Down 4.4% – Here’s Why

AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP)’s share price fell 4.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $448.57 and last traded at $461.79. 6,909,027 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 21% from the average session volume of 5,695,096 shares. The stock had previously closed at $483.00.

Key Headlines Impacting AppLovin

Here are the key news stories impacting AppLovin this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and bullish commentary argue recent sell-offs are overblown and present a buying opportunity; Seeking Alpha previews call the pullback a chance to “load up” ahead of earnings. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple write-ups contend Google’s Project Genie is not an imminent threat to AppLovin’s high-margin adtech business, supporting the bullish case that fundamentals remain intact. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Short-term buyers have pushed the stock up in recent sessions as some investors view the January declines as an entry point; coverage noted a modest rebound prior to today. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector analysis compares AppLovin favorably within application software peers, offering context but not a direct catalyst. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data in recent reports appears inconsistent (entries show zero shares and NaN changes), so there’s no clear public short-volume signal to explain intraday moves; treat those short-interest notes as unreliable until clarified.
• Negative Sentiment: A new investor litigation notice from Pomerantz (investigation into AppLovin) is a material legal/PR overhang that can increase volatility and weighs on sentiment. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing short-seller attacks and investor panic over AI competition drove a steep January drawdown and continue to pressure the tape; coverage summarizes why the earlier short reports and Google AI fears triggered large outflows. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: AppLovin has publicly confronted short-seller claims; that dispute and associated headlines keep newsflow negative in the near term and can sustain downward moves until resolved. Read More.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on APP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of AppLovin from $425.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of AppLovin from $800.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. UBS Group set a $800.00 price target on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $721.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of AppLovin in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AppLovin has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $706.45.

AppLovin Trading Down 4.4%

The company has a market cap of $156.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 2.50. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $633.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $569.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 3.25 and a current ratio of 3.25.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.11. AppLovin had a return on equity of 258.49% and a net margin of 51.27%.The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 68.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that AppLovin Corporation will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 27,143 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $545.38, for a total transaction of $14,803,249.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 3,323,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,812,669,143.78. This trade represents a 0.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 30,888 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $520.29, for a total transaction of $16,070,717.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,553,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,328,384,136.69. The trade was a 1.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 340,336 shares of company stock valued at $200,062,623 over the last ninety days. 13.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AppLovin

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in APP. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of AppLovin by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in AppLovin in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in AppLovin in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in AppLovin by 760.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 43 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the third quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Company Profile

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.