AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Down 19.7% After Analyst Downgrade

AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP)’s share price fell 19.7% on Thursday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $820.00 to $710.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. AppLovin traded as low as $365.01 and last traded at $366.91. 18,674,361 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 168% from the average session volume of 6,962,683 shares. The stock had previously closed at $456.81.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on APP. Weiss Ratings lowered AppLovin from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on AppLovin from $425.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on AppLovin from $860.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Zacks Research raised AppLovin from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 1st. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on AppLovin from $465.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $651.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 owned 277,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,097,294.30. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 27,143 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief technology officer 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 ownership of the stock. 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 in the last three months. Company insiders own 13.66% of the company’s stock.

Key AppLovin News

Here are the key news stories impacting AppLovin this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and raised forward outlook — AppLovin reported Q4 revenue up ~66% to $1.66B and EPS above estimates; management gave revenue guidance above consensus for Q1/2026, supporting the story of durable top-line recovery and margin leverage. AppLovin Q4 results (BusinessWire)
• Positive Sentiment: Exceptional profitability and cash flow metrics highlighted by analysts — coverage notes very high gross and adjusted EBITDA margins, strong free-cash-flow conversion and sizable buybacks, supporting longer-term fundamentals. Seeking Alpha deep dive
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts reaffirmed or raised targets after the print (Scotiabank, Wedbush, RBC, Needham), indicating continued institutional conviction on APP’s medium-term growth. The Fly — analyst reactions
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst moves — while some firms raised targets sharply, others trimmed targets (Citigroup, BTIG, Wells Fargo, Piper) but mostly kept buy/outperform ratings, signaling divergence on near-term multiple/risk assumptions. Benzinga — analyst changes
• Neutral Sentiment: Management commentary and guidance detail questioned — investors wanted clearer color on AI impacts and cadence; CEO commentary downplaying AI risk left some uncertain about the pace of channel reallocation. MSN — CEO comments
• Negative Sentiment: Large intraday selloff driven by AI and demand fears — despite beat-and-raise results, headlines flagged “AI fears” and competition concerns, prompting a sizable sell-off on heavy volume as traders rotated out. 247WallSt — plunge despite earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noting revenue/competitive pressure — some outlets (and Reuters coverage) emphasized tougher ad-market dynamics and said the company “missed” in certain contexts, amplifying headline risk. Reuters — competition/demand concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Market technicals and valuation/cash-out worries — APP’s elevated historical multiples and recent run left room for profit-taking; the big, fast drop was exacerbated by high trading volume and short-term momentum flows. Proactive — shares fall despite beat

Institutional Trading of AppLovin

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its position in AppLovin by 160.0% in 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 bought a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of AppLovin by 760.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 43 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AppLovin in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $124.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 2.49. 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’s 50-day moving average is $608.86 and its 200-day moving average is $571.60.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 258.49% and a net margin of 51.27%.The company had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.73 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 66.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that AppLovin Corporation will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About AppLovin

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.