AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Trading Up 6.7% After Analyst Upgrade

AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) was up 6.7% during mid-day trading on Friday after Scotiabank raised their price target on the stock from $750.00 to $775.00. Scotiabank currently has a sector outperform rating on the stock. AppLovin traded as high as $391.85 and last traded at $391.5510. Approximately 9,037,691 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 28% from the average daily volume of 7,036,557 shares. The stock had previously closed at $366.91.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday. Evercore reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on AppLovin from $710.00 to $585.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings lowered AppLovin from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $651.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 7,609 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $657.13, for a total value of $5,000,102.17. Following the transaction, the insider owned 277,110 shares in the company, valued at $182,097,294.30. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 4,069 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $497.50, for a total transaction of $2,024,327.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,998,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,491,976,630. This trade represents a 0.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 187,786 shares of company stock valued at $100,914,925. 13.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about AppLovin

Here are the key news stories impacting AppLovin this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat-and-raise: AppLovin reported stronger-than-expected results (Q4 revenue +66% to $1.66B; EPS $3.24 vs. $2.89 est.) and raised near-term guidance — a primary reason value buyers stepped back in. Business Wire: Q4 results
• Positive Sentiment: Exceptional profitability: Management delivered and guided to extremely high adjusted EBITDA margins (~84%), and the business shows very strong net margins and FCF conversion — supporting the thesis that AppLovin is a high-margin adtech/software hybrid. Zacks: Margin analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Cash flow and buybacks: Analysts and commentators highlight massive free cash flow and recent large share repurchases, which provide balance-sheet optionality and support buy-the-dip interest. Seeking Alpha: FCF and buybacks
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reaction is mixed but supportive: several firms raised targets or reaffirmed buy/outperform ratings (Wedbush, Scotiabank, Needham) while a few trimmed targets — the net effect keeps upside in many models but adds target dispersion. The Fly: analyst moves
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro / AI software sell-off weighs on sentiment: broader investor skepticism toward software/AI names and a weak macro datapoint (existing home sales) amplified downward pressure on the stock despite strong company-level results. Zacks: AI uncertainty
• Negative Sentiment: Competition concerns — CloudX and potential Meta pressure: investor fear that new entrants (CloudX) or large platforms could encroach on AppLovin’s mobile ad niche triggered the sharp selloff after earnings. That fear is the main headline driver behind the stock’s earlier steep decline. MarketBeat: competition concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Market punished the name despite fundamentals: several write-ups and commentators call the sell-off “panic” or “overdone,” but that volatility can persist while headline risk (competition, AI narrative) remains. Seeking Alpha: panic sell-off commentary

Institutional Trading of AppLovin

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APP. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of AppLovin by 58.6% in the 3rd quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in AppLovin by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 640 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AppLovin by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in AppLovin by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 701 shares of the company’s stock worth $504,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AppLovin by 3.2% during the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $465,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AppLovin Trading Up 6.7%

The company has a quick ratio of 3.25, a current ratio of 3.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $602.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $570.18. The company has a market capitalization of $132.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 2.49.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $3.24 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. AppLovin had a return on equity of 306.49% and a net margin of 57.42%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 66.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.73 EPS. Research analysts predict that AppLovin Corporation will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.