AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 6,112,874 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 14% from the previous session’s volume of 5,362,742 shares.The stock last traded at $273.20 and had previously closed at $261.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on AppLovin from $375.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Arete Research set a $200.00 price target on AppLovin in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on AppLovin from $250.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $440.00 to $630.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Macquarie upped their price target on shares of AppLovin from $270.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $435.47.

AppLovin Trading Up 4.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $92.60 billion, a PE ratio of 60.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.33. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $351.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $283.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) 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, sell-side analysts forecast that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AppLovin

In related news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $422.21, for a total value of $18,999,450.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,914,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,230,527,667.32. This trade represents a 1.52 % 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, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.65, for a total transaction of $4,228,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 88,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,359,201.85. This represents a 16.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 306,900 shares of company stock worth $106,401,841 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AppLovin

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in AppLovin in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Riverview Trust Co lifted its holdings in AppLovin by 1,640.0% in the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in AppLovin during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.