Short Interest in AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) Expands By 47.1%

AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 21,860,000 shares, a growth of 47.1% from the September 15th total of 14,860,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,490,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days. Approximately 9.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Approximately 9.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 7,490,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

AppLovin Trading Up 2.2%

NASDAQ APP opened at $564.82 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 2.74. The company has a market capitalization of $191.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 2.53. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $562.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $417.74. AppLovin has a one year low of $157.88 and a one year high of $745.61.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. AppLovin had a net margin of 45.72% and a return on equity of 252.67%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 77.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that AppLovin will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of AppLovin from $560.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of AppLovin from $491.00 to $633.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Oppenheimer set a $740.00 price target on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of AppLovin from $500.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $605.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dawson Alyssa Harvey sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.97, for a total value of $170,789.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,537,105.50. This represents a 10.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $502.23, for a total transaction of $17,578,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 269,955 shares in the company, valued at $135,579,499.65. This trade represents a 11.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,156,788 shares of company stock valued at $514,863,333. Company insiders own 13.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. grew its position in shares of AppLovin by 65.7% in the 3rd quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 58 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

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.