Daiwa Capital Markets Initiates Coverage on AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP)

Analysts at Daiwa Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) in a research report issued on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets’ target price suggests a potential upside of 10.62% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of AppLovin from $59.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. HSBC began coverage on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Monday, December 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $53.20 price objective on the stock. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of AppLovin from $67.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on AppLovin from $65.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.31.

AppLovin Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:APP opened at $72.32 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $63.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.90. AppLovin has a 12 month low of $15.41 and a 12 month high of $79.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.14. AppLovin had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 24.69%. The business had revenue of $953.26 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $928.66 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.21) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AppLovin will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.01, for a total transaction of $3,750,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 471,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,371,715.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 50,000 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.01, for a total value of $3,750,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 471,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,371,715.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew Stumpf sold 2,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.30, for a total value of $175,657.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 362,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,931,311.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 61,215 shares of company stock worth $4,416,815 over the last three months. Insiders own 12.43% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APP. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AppLovin in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AppLovin in the third quarter worth $33,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in AppLovin by 86.1% during the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 927 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AppLovin in the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.