AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 24,650,000 shares, an increase of 11.4% from the March 15th total of 22,120,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,340,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.7 days. Approximately 15.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.01, for a total transaction of $3,750,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Craig Scott Billings sold 5,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total transaction of $323,731.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $743,065.87. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.01, for a total transaction of $3,750,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 471,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,371,715.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 61,215 shares of company stock valued at $4,416,815. Company insiders own 12.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AppLovin in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AppLovin in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AppLovin in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 86.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castleview Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of AppLovin in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Price Performance

NASDAQ:APP traded down $4.14 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $71.43. 4,104,700 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,183,284. AppLovin has a 12 month low of $15.41 and a 12 month high of $79.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $63.41 and a 200 day moving average of $48.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The stock has a market cap of $24.43 billion, a PE ratio of 71.43, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.90.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.49 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $953.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.66 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.21) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 35.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that AppLovin will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $59.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Daiwa Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Monday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $65.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, HSBC initiated coverage on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Monday, December 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $53.20 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AppLovin currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.75.

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.