AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Given “Overweight” Rating at Piper Sandler

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reiterated by equities researchers at Piper Sandler in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $650.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $800.00. Piper Sandler’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 74.90% from the stock’s current price.

APP has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wedbush increased their target price on AppLovin from $465.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings downgraded AppLovin from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Evercore restated a “buy” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of AppLovin from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AppLovin currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $659.05.

AppLovin Stock Down 18.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:APP traded down $85.17 during trading on Thursday, hitting $371.64. 7,773,597 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,516,784. The company has a current ratio of 3.25, a quick ratio of 3.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $608.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $571.60. AppLovin has a 52 week low of $200.50 and a 52 week high of $745.61. The company has a market cap of $125.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 2.49.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.35. AppLovin had a net margin of 51.27% and a return on equity of 258.49%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.73 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 66.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that AppLovin will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 27,143 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.38, for a total transaction of $14,803,249.34. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 3,323,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,812,669,143.78. The trade was a 0.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 7,609 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $657.13, for a total value of $5,000,102.17. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 277,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,097,294.30. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 187,786 shares of company stock valued at $100,914,925 over the last 90 days. 13.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of APP. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in AppLovin in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its position in shares of AppLovin by 760.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 43 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key AppLovin News

Here are the key news stories impacting AppLovin this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat — AppLovin reported $3.24 EPS vs. $2.89 expected and revenue of $1.66B (up 66% YoY), showing strong profitability and margin expansion. BusinessWire: Q4 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 guidance tops street — AppLovin issued revenue guidance of about $1.7B–$1.8B for Q1, above the ~ $1.6B consensus, which is constructive for near-term top-line visibility. Earnings Release / Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst backing remains — Needham reaffirmed a “buy” rating with a $700 target, signaling continued analyst confidence in AppLovin’s long-term growth thesis. Benzinga: Needham Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst positioning — BTIG trimmed its price target from $771 to $640 but kept a buy rating; that narrows upside expectations even as the stock remains a buy for some firms. The Fly: BTIG PT Cut
• Neutral Sentiment: Management tone — CEO downplayed AI-related risks on the call, an attempt to reassure investors about the company’s strategic positioning in AI-driven ad products. MSN: CEO Comments
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: sell-the-news / demand worries — Despite beats, several outlets and traders flagged softer-than-expected advertising demand, heightened competition and questions about sustainable growth; that commentary drove a post-earnings pullback. Reuters: Revenue / Competition Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage and sentiment noise — Multiple headlines (Investopedia, MarketWatch, Seeking Alpha) emphasise the stock slide and investor disappointment post-earnings, which can amplify volatility and short-term selling pressure. Investopedia: Market Headlines

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.