AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Stock Price Down 6.3% – What’s Next?

AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP)’s share price was down 6.3% on Friday . The company traded as low as $559.82 and last traded at $568.76. Approximately 8,528,184 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 78% from the average daily volume of 4,795,649 shares. The stock had previously closed at $606.99.

Key Headlines Impacting AppLovin

Here are the key news stories impacting AppLovin this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlights AppLovin’s Q3 results and says the company’s scalable ad engine (Axon) is now the primary growth driver — rising revenue and very strong EBITDA margins show growth is coming from efficiency, not just volume. AppLovin’s Scalable Ad Engine Emerges as the Real Growth Catalyst
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI initiated coverage with an “outperform” and a $835 price target (roughly +47% vs current levels), giving fresh institutional validation that could support upside if execution continues. Evercore Coverage (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha reiterates a buy thesis based on 68% YoY revenue growth, ~82% EBITDA margins, expanding advertiser mix beyond gaming, and management guidance for sustained high double-digit growth — factors that underpin longer-term EPS upside. AppLovin: Buying The Dip Again
• Positive Sentiment: Technical/order-flow traders noted a Power Inflow signal that triggered an intraday bounce after heavy selling — a short-term bullish order-flow cue that can attract momentum buyers. Power Inflow Signal
• Positive Sentiment: Insider buying: Rep. Gilbert Ray Cisneros Jr. disclosed a purchase of APP shares, a small but positive signal to some investors. Insider Purchase
• Neutral Sentiment: Longer-term price forecasts and narrative pieces (e.g., 247WallStreet) emphasize recovery after last year’s sharp sell-off and imply significant upside if growth continues — useful context but not an immediate catalyst. Price Prediction and Forecast 2026-2030
• Negative Sentiment: Contrasting coverage (MSN) asks why the stock is falling despite buy ratings — highlighting that renewed analyst optimism hasn’t yet offset recent heavy selling, likely due to residual legal/short-seller risk and profit-taking at high multiples. Why Is AppLovin Stock Crashing?

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on APP shares. Evercore ISI started coverage on AppLovin in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $835.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings cut AppLovin from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $800.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of AppLovin from $700.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $745.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AppLovin currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $706.76.

AppLovin Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $192.21 billion, a PE ratio of 69.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 2.50. The company has a quick ratio of 3.25, a current ratio of 3.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. The company’s fifty day moving average is $639.43 and its 200 day moving average is $553.80.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.11. AppLovin had a net margin of 51.27% and a return on equity of 258.49%. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. AppLovin’s revenue for the quarter was up 68.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AppLovin Corporation will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AppLovin news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 7,609 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $657.13, for a total value of $5,000,102.17. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 277,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,097,294.30. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dawson Alyssa Harvey sold 150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $693.32, for a total value of $103,998.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,961,402.28. This represents a 5.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 340,336 shares of company stock valued at $200,062,623 in the last 90 days. 13.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AppLovin

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in AppLovin during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in shares of AppLovin by 760.0% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 43 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of AppLovin by 58.6% in the third quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.