AppLovin (APP) Stock Pulls Back Following Recent 50% Surge: What's Going On?

AppLovin Corp APP shares are down 2.8% to $366.06 on Thursday but remain up nearly 50% over the past month, as investors might be taking profits following a sharp post-earnings rally.

What To Know: The pullback comes after the stock surged over the past week, fueled by better-than-expected first-quarter results and a broader tech rally sparked by easing U.S.-China trade tensions.

Last Wednesday, AppLovin reported first-quarter revenue of $1.48 billion, beating consensus estimates of $1.38 billion and growing 40% year-over-year. Adjusted EPS of $1.67 also topped forecasts.

Read Also: Plug Power Stock Hits A New 52-Week Low: What’s Going On?

The advertising segment led performance with 71% revenue growth and record 81% EBITDA margins. The company guided second-quarter ad revenue to $1.195–$1.215 billion and adjusted EBITDA to $970M–$990M, well above Street expectations.

Analysts responded favorably. BofA reiterated a Buy with a $580 target, while Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan raised targets to $435 and $355, respectively.

Macro conditions have added some support this week, with Monday's news of a 90-day U.S.-China tariff rollback easing recession and inflation fears. April CPI data released Tuesday showed inflation cooling slightly, reinforcing market optimism.

Read Also: Tariffs Slow Retail Spending As Producer Prices Post Sharpest Drop Since 2020

How To Buy APP Stock

By now you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for AppLovin – be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company.

Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy “fractional shares,” which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share.

In the case of AppLovin, which is trading at $366.06 as of publishing time, $100 would buy you 0.27 shares of stock.

If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform, or a broker who will allow you to “go short” a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option, or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading – either way it allows you to profit off of the share price decline.

According to data from Benzinga Pro, APP has a 52-week high of $525.04 and a 52-week low of $60.67.