What Happened?
Shares of mobile app technology company AppLovin (NASDAQ: APP) fell 2.6% in the afternoon session after a report surfaced that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was investigating the company's data-collection practices.
The probe reportedly reviewed allegations that the marketing platform company violated its platform partners' service agreements in order to deliver more targeted advertising to consumers. Following the news, which was first reported by Bloomberg, the stock became one of the worst-performing stocks in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq during the session. The investigation by the regulatory agency created uncertainty among investors regarding the company's business practices and potential future penalties.
After the initial drop the shares shed some of the losses and close the day $586.77, down 14.1% from previous close.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy AppLovin? Access our full analysis report here.
What Is The Market Telling Us
AppLovin’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 58 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 10 days ago when the stock gained 3.9% on the news that analysts at both UBS and Piper Sandler significantly raised their price targets on the stock.
UBS maintained its 'Buy' rating on AppLovin while increasing its price target by 50% to $810. In a similar move, Piper Sandler also kept its 'Overweight' rating but lifted its target to $740 from $500. Piper Sandler's analysts noted their excitement about the company's upcoming Axon Ads Manager soft launch. The positive commentary from Wall Street reflected strong confidence, with analysts describing the company as a "top pick" with the "potential to be a top advertising player."
AppLovin is up 62.4% since the beginning of the year, but at $555 per share, it is still trading 22.8% below its 52-week high of $718.54 from September 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of AppLovin’s shares at the IPO in April 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $8,512.
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