AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Down 10.2% – Time to Sell?

Shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) dropped 10.2% on Monday . The company traded as low as $238.31 and last traded at $242.92. Approximately 5,252,961 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 4% from the average daily volume of 5,034,170 shares. The stock had previously closed at $270.48.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on APP. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of AppLovin from $460.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Macquarie increased their target price on shares of AppLovin from $270.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Arete Research set a $200.00 target price on AppLovin in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of AppLovin from $440.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AppLovin presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $438.28.

AppLovin Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $363.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $262.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.41. The stock has a market cap of $79.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.33.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AppLovin news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 1,676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.39, for a total transaction of $597,309.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,058,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,090,066,927.65. This trade represents a 0.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 15,971 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.07, for a total transaction of $5,000,040.97. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 372,205 shares in the company, valued at $116,526,219.35. This represents a 4.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 406,047 shares of company stock worth $140,390,817. Company insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AppLovin

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of AppLovin by 75.5% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 13,851,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,485,409,000 after buying an additional 5,957,885 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AppLovin by 10.5% during the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 10,820,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,382,307,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,009 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in AppLovin during the 4th quarter worth about $1,781,922,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of AppLovin by 8.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,388,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $703,406,000 after buying an additional 428,419 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of AppLovin by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,519,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,462,144,000 after acquiring an additional 573,310 shares during the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.