AppLovin Corp (APP) is experiencing a significant decline, hitting a 20-day low as it trades down 11.11% in pre-market. This drop comes amid a broader market downturn, with the Nasdaq-100 down 2.05% and the S&P 500 down 1.70%.
Despite the stock's poor performance, AppLovin recently launched its AI-driven ad platform Axon-2, which achieved a remarkable 68% year-over-year revenue growth last quarter. The company is also planning to expand this platform beyond mobile gaming and introduce a self-serve ad manager, indicating strong growth potential. However, the stock remains 22% below its 52-week high, reflecting investor caution in the current market environment.
The implications of this situation suggest that while AppLovin has promising growth prospects with its new AI platform, the current market conditions are weighing heavily on its stock performance. Investors may need to consider the broader market trends when evaluating the company's future.
Wall Street analysts forecast APP stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for APP is 763.44 USD with a low forecast of 650.00 USD and a high forecast of 860.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
20 Analyst Rating
Wall Street analysts forecast APP stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for APP is 763.44 USD with a low forecast of 650.00 USD and a high forecast of 860.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
17 Buy
3 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 521.940
Low
650.00
Averages
763.44
High
860.00
Current: 521.940
Low
650.00
Averages
763.44
High
860.00
Needham
Hold
to
Buy
upgrade
$700
2026-01-26
New
Reason
Needham
Price Target
$700
AI Analysis
2026-01-26
New
upgrade
Hold
to
Buy
Reason
Needham upgraded AppLovin to Buy from Hold with a $700 price target. The firm's e-commerce work has given it added confidence in the trajectory of AppLovin's e-commerce revenue growth in 2026. In addition, the stock has pulled back off the highs from a month ago, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Needham upped AppLovin's e-commerce sales estimates for 2026 to $1.45B from $1.05B prior, as it now assumes the growth in advertisers from the self-service launch and ramp-up in spend more than offsets typical Q1 seasonality. The firm sees potential upside the numbers in a bull case, which assumes AppLovin revenue can experience a similar trajectory as TikTok.
Piper Sandler
Overweight
maintain
$800
2026-01-20
Reason
Piper Sandler
Price Target
$800
2026-01-20
maintain
Overweight
Reason
Piper Sandler notes that a short report targeting AppLovin was released last night that alleges pre-IPO investors used illegal funds as the source of their investment and that AppLovin has become a vehicle for laundering illicit funds from Chinese and Southeast Asian criminal networks. However, the report "provides little evidence to support the claims," according to the analyst, who thinks investors will look past this report. The firm reiterates an Overweight rating and $800 price target on AppLovin shares.
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Wells Fargo
Alec Brondolo
Overweight
maintain
$721 -> $735
2026-01-08
Reason
Wells Fargo
Alec Brondolo
Price Target
$721 -> $735
2026-01-08
maintain
Overweight
Reason
Wells Fargo analyst Alec Brondolo raised the firm's price target on AppLovin to $735 from $721 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. Ahead of quarterly results, the firm is raising Q4 revenues 3% on strong mobile game checks. Web ads trends are mixed, Wells says, adding that advertisers are positive on prospecting but existing advertiser wallet share should be about flat year-over-year. The firm sees Q1 consensus as a high bar given APP history of conservative guidance. Overall, Wells sees another tough setup.
BTIG
Buy
maintain
$705 -> $771
2025-12-17
Reason
BTIG
Price Target
$705 -> $771
2025-12-17
maintain
Buy
Reason
BTIG raised the firm's price target on AppLovin to $771 from $705 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm is constructive on the setup for the gaming and gambling end markets it covers heading into 2026 and its higher price target is the reflection of expected healthier gaming user acquisition trends in Q4 and beyond, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
About APP
AppLovin Corporation is a marketing platform. The Company provides end-to-end software and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for businesses to reach, monetize and grow their global audiences. Its advertising solutions include a comprehensive suite of tools including AppDiscovery, MAX, Adjust, Wurl and Axon Ads Manager. AppDiscovery is powered by AXON, its AI-powered advertising engine, and matches advertiser demand with publisher supply through auctions at vast scale and at microsecond-level speeds. MAX is its monetization solution, utilizing an advanced in-app bidding technology that optimizes the value of a publisher’s advertising inventory by running a real-time competitive auction, driving more competition, and higher returns for publishers. Adjust is its measurement and analytics marketing platform which provides marketers with the visibility, insights, and data needed to scale their apps marketing and drive more informed results. Wurl is its connected TV (CTV) platform.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
