AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Phillip Securities

Phillip Securities upgraded shares of AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) from a moderate buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on APP. Benchmark dropped their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $775.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wedbush decreased their target price on shares of AppLovin from $640.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $357.00 price target (down from $575.00) on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of AppLovin from $720.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $700.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $573.45.

AppLovin Stock Down 6.0%

Shares of APP opened at $318.68 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $107.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.50, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 2.54. AppLovin has a 52 week low of $318.12 and a 52 week high of $745.61. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $462.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $460.08. The company has a quick ratio of 4.30, a current ratio of 4.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $3.76 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $3.76. AppLovin had a return on equity of 193.10% and a net margin of 64.58%.The company had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. AppLovin’s quarterly revenue was up 52.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AppLovin will post 15.56 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Matthew Stumpf sold 9,052 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $5,431,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 177,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $106,470,000. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $565.89, for a total transaction of $11,317,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 243,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $138,055,090.29. This represents a 7.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 393,000 shares of company stock valued at $197,297,363. 12.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AppLovin

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in AppLovin by 160.0% in the 4th quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in AppLovin in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Pioneer Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in AppLovin during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AppLovin during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about AppLovin

Here are the key news stories impacting AppLovin this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts argue the selloff has created an attractive entry point. AppLovin delivered 53% year-over-year second-quarter revenue growth and margins above 75%, while expansion into consumer brands, non-gaming applications, web and connected TV could materially increase its addressable market. AppLovin: I Am Buying The Q2 Stock Plunge
• Positive Sentiment: Other commentary maintains that the market overreacted to AppLovin’s earnings and favors APP over Unity, citing the company’s scale, profitability and long-term artificial-intelligence-driven growth potential. AppLovin Vs. Unity: Buy The Former, The Market Got It Wrong On Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America reaffirmed a Neutral rating but reduced its price target to $400 from $430. The revised target remains above the recent trading level, suggesting potential upside, but reflects lower confidence in the company’s near-term execution. Benzinga analyst note
• Negative Sentiment: The main catalyst for the decline was Bank of America’s downgrade from Buy to Neutral. Analyst Omar Dessouky cited increased uncertainty about AppLovin’s ability to maintain its long-term 30% revenue-growth target. AppLovin shares drop on Bank of America downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Although second-quarter EPS matched expectations and revenue grew 52.8% year over year, revenue came in slightly below estimates. Analysts also questioned the source of expected sequential growth, raising concerns that the recent slowdown may reflect execution issues rather than temporary timing. APP Stock Falls 17% Since Q2 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: The stock’s high-growth valuation leaves it particularly sensitive to any evidence that the 30% long-term revenue goal is becoming harder to defend. The downgrade followed a substantial post-earnings pullback, with investors focusing more on growth durability than on AppLovin’s strong margins and upbeat outlook. AppLovin’s Growth Target Just Got Harder to Defend

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.