Phillip Securities Upgrades AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) to Strong-Buy

Posted by Brian Himes on Aug 12th, 2026

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP – Get Free Report) was upgraded by Phillip Securities from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on APP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of AppLovin from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Argus started coverage on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $520.00 price target for the company. Wedbush dropped their price target 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. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $640.00 to $574.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $357.00 price objective (down from $575.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $573.45.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on AppLovin

AppLovin Trading Down 6.0%

APP stock opened at $318.68 on Tuesday. 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 has a twelve month low of $318.12 and a twelve month high of $745.61. The company has a market cap of $107.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.50, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 2.54. The business has a fifty day moving average of $462.95 and a 200-day moving average of $460.08.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $3.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $3.76. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. AppLovin had a return on equity of 193.10% and a net margin of 64.58%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 52.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AppLovin will post 15.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at AppLovin

In related news, CFO Matthew Stumpf sold 9,052 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 177,450 shares in the company, valued at $106,470,000. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 20,000 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 243,961 shares in the company, valued at $138,055,090.29. The trade was a 7.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 393,000 shares of company stock worth $197,297,363. 12.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AppLovin

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of APP. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AppLovin by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,120,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,926,746,000 after purchasing an additional 166,117 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of AppLovin by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,904,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,021,721,000 after buying an additional 52,377 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of AppLovin by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,167,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,817,269,000 after buying an additional 448,005 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in AppLovin by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,089,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,103,386,000 after buying an additional 212,349 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its stake in AppLovin by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,561,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,747,551,000 after buying an additional 538,806 shares during the period. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting 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

AppLovin Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.