AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Trading Down 19.7% on Analyst Downgrade

AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP)’s stock price was down 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. Approximately 18,674,361 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 168% from the average daily volume of 6,962,683 shares. The stock had previously closed at $456.81.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of AppLovin from $710.00 to $585.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on AppLovin from $860.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $700.00 price target on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday. BTIG Research reduced their price objective on AppLovin from $771.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group set a $740.00 target price on AppLovin in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AppLovin currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $651.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 14,708 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $548.45, for a total value of $8,066,602.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 35,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,683,322.05. This represents a 29.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 4,069 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $497.50, for a total transaction of $2,024,327.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,998,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,491,976,630. This represents a 0.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 187,786 shares of company stock worth $100,914,925 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 13.66% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting AppLovin

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

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in AppLovin during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in AppLovin during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its position in AppLovin by 760.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 43 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $608.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $571.60. The company has a market capitalization of $124.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 2.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 3.25 and a current ratio of 3.25.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last issued 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 return on equity of 258.49% and a net margin of 51.27%.The business had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.73 earnings per share. AppLovin’s revenue for the quarter was up 66.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that AppLovin Corporation will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

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.