AppLovin Stock Hits an All-Time High: Buy, Hold, or Take Profits?

One stock that has seen a very strong resurgence amid subdued tariff concerns and hopes of an interest rate cut is AppLovin APP.

Attributed to bullish strategic moves, financial performance, and market momentum, the mobile app technology provider has seen its stock rebound and soar over +100% in the last six months, and is up +80% year to date.

More astonishing, since going public in April of 2021, AppLovin stock has now skyrocketed +800%. Hitting an all-time high of $613 a share in Wednesday’s trading sessions, it’s certainly a worthy topic of whether investors should buy, hold, or take profits in APP.   

AI Ad Dominance & International Expansion

Reigniting optimism for AppLovin stock has been the company’s AXON 2.0 platform, a machine learning engine for mobile ad delivery that has been outperforming business expectations.

Determining when and which ads to display and to whom, AXON 2.0 optimizes advertisers' reach, engagement, and monetization, especially in the mobile and e-commerce sectors. Furthermore, AppLovin is fueling its growth by rolling out its ad tech globally, targeting markets in Europe and Asia with offices in Tokyo, Berlin, and Seoul.

Most importantly, this international expansion has dramatically increased AppLovin’s total addressable market and has reduced reliance on U.S. gaming revenue.  

AppLovin’s Shift Beyond Gaming

Notably, AppLovin divested its mobile gaming division for $400 million in June to Tripledot Studios, also receiving a 20% equity consideration in the company at the time of closing.

The strategic move will allow AppLovin to streamline its operations and focus entirely on its high-growth ad tech platform. To that point, AppLovin is positioned as the third-largest ad platform provider in the U.S. behind Meta Platforms META and Alphabet GOOGL.

AppLovin’s Explosive Financial Growth

Speaking to AppLovin’s high-growth ad tech platform, its annual sales are now expected to increase 17% this year to $5.5 billion from $4.71 billion in 2024. Plus, fiscal 2026 sales are projected to climb another 26% to $6.93 billion.

Echoing the excitement for AppLovin stock is that since the pandemic, its top line has stretched over 200% with annual sales at $1.45 billion in 2020.

S&P 500 Inclusion & Analyst Upgrades

Further boosting investor sentiment and institutional credibility is that AppLovin's stock will be added to the S&P 500 next Monday, September 22.

Although AppLovin stock has blown past its Average Zacks Price Target of $524.86 a share, it’s noteworthy that several analysts have boosted their price target for APP to over $640. Notably, this includes analysts at Benchmark, BTIG, and Wedbush, citing their bullish stance on AppLovin’s AI-powered mobile ad-tech platform.  

Positive EPS Revisions

Most influential to the Zacks Rank, earnings estimate revisions (EPS) are nicely up for AppLovin over the last 60 days for FY25 and FY26. Expecting high-double-digit EPS growth for the foreseeable future, FY25 revisions have risen 7% in the last two months from $8.44 to $9.03, with FY26 estimates spiking 12% from $12.07 to $13.55.

Bottom Line

Although it may certainly be a good time to take profits in AppLovin stock if needed, the technology services innovator has continued to grow into what was a very lofty valuation in the past. Keeping this in mind, it wouldn’t be surprising if there is still more upside and higher highs ahead with APP sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at the moment.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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