AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Receives “Hold” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) in a research report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of AppLovin from $375.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of AppLovin from $460.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Arete Research set a $200.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Macquarie increased their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $270.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AppLovin has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $438.28.

AppLovin Trading Up 6.5 %

Shares of AppLovin stock opened at $297.03 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $354.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $272.20. The company has a market cap of $100.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.33. AppLovin has a fifty-two week low of $60.67 and a fifty-two week high of $525.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 2.41.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a net margin of 33.54% and a return on equity of 188.55%. As a group, equities analysts predict that AppLovin will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.65, for a total transaction of $64,930,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 621,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,675,501.85. This trade represents a 24.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $422.21, for a total transaction of $18,999,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,914,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,230,527,667.32. The trade was a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 306,900 shares of company stock valued at $106,401,841. Company insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in AppLovin by 622.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,893,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,030,462,000 after buying an additional 6,801,138 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the fourth quarter valued at $1,781,922,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in shares of AppLovin by 5,421.4% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,084,496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,322,682,000 after acquiring an additional 4,010,520 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AppLovin in the fourth quarter valued at $828,138,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in AppLovin by 457.2% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,893,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $936,888,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373,885 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Company Profile

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.