AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) Stock Price Down 16.9% – Here’s What Happened

AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) dropped 16.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $463.08 and last traded at $473.11. Approximately 12,127,518 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 116% from the average daily volume of 5,615,026 shares. The stock had previously closed at $569.24.

More AppLovin News

Here are the key news stories impacting AppLovin this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI initiated coverage with an Outperform and $835 price target, citing expansion into e‑commerce ads and a wider growth runway — a formal analyst endorsement that can support the stock on rebounds. Evercore ISI Initiates Coverage on AppLovin (APP) With Outperform Amid Mobile Gaming and E-Commerce Ad Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Forbes explains the broader rally: accelerating revenue, margin improvement, divestitures that refocused the company, analyst upgrades and buybacks — factors that underpin medium‑term upside if fundamentals remain intact. Why Is AppLovin Stock Rallying?
• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha lays out a bullish case ahead of earnings: AppLovin is now a pure‑play ad platform, AXON 2.0 and Ads Manager adoption could reaccelerate growth, and Q4 guidance implies sequential revenue and high EBITDA margins — suggesting upside if management delivers. AppLovin: Your Golden Buying Opportunity Ahead Of Earnings (Preview)
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage pieces (e.g., Needham/Yahoo) highlight large TAM and product potential, framing AppLovin as a high‑growth ad platform with upside if user and e‑commerce ad monetization scale. Needham Thinks This Tech Stock Could Be the Next TikTok. Should You Buy It Here?
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks notes increased investor attention — useful context but not a direct catalyst; attention can amplify moves in either direction. AppLovin Corporation (APP) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Longer‑term price forecasts and recovery narratives (price‑target pieces) remind investors of prior volatility and the upside recovery potential but are speculative. AppLovin (NASDAQ: APP) Stock Price Prediction and Forecast 2026-2030 (Jan 30)
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest data this week appeared inconsistent (zero values), signaling either a data glitch or reporting lag — monitor accurate short‑interest updates for positioning signals.
• Negative Sentiment: A new short report alleged money‑laundering links and triggered a sharp sell‑off; such allegations can materially affect sentiment, regulatory scrutiny and short‑term liquidity. AppLovin Faces Money-Laundering Claims—Here’s What’s Missing
• Negative Sentiment: AppLovin has publicly disputed the short report, but media coverage highlights execution risk for its AI/e‑commerce push and keeps sentiment fragile until investigations and disclosures resolve. AppLovin Disputes Short Report As AI E Commerce Push Faces Test
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz launched an investor investigation into AppLovin, escalating legal risk and potential litigation costs — a tangible negative catalyst until cleared. INVESTOR ALERT: Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims On Behalf of Investors of AppLovin Corporation – APP

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $721.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore ISI restated a “buy” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC raised AppLovin from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $700.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on AppLovin from $800.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on AppLovin from $745.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $706.45.

AppLovin Stock Down 16.9%

The firm has a market cap of $159.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 2.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $636.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $564.98. The company has a current ratio of 3.25, a quick ratio of 3.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38.

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

Insider Transactions at AppLovin

In other news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 27,143 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.38, for a total transaction of $14,803,249.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 3,323,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,812,669,143.78. This represents a 0.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 7,609 shares of the 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 owned 277,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,097,294.30. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 340,336 shares of company stock worth $200,062,623. Company insiders own 13.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AppLovin

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in AppLovin in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $294,000. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of AppLovin in the fourth quarter valued at about $239,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in AppLovin by 58.0% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in AppLovin during the second quarter worth approximately $70,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in AppLovin by 28.4% in the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 50,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,733,000 after purchasing an additional 11,193 shares during the period. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.