AppLovin stock price rises, Wells Fargo raises target price based on industry survey

2026-04-06 19:59:48

Investing.com – AppLovin Corp (NASDAQ:APP) shares rose 6.7% on Monday. Earlier, a Wells Fargo analyst, Alec Brondolo, raised the company’s price target from $543 to $560 and maintained an “outperform” rating.

The analyst said improving industry survey data and muted buyer sentiment toward the stock have created what he considers a positive setup for the run-up into the company’s Q1 earnings release. Brondolo raised his revenue expectations for Q1 through 2026 by 3%; this is now 3% above the market consensus and at the high end of the company’s guidance range. The rationale is strong survey data for the mobile gaming industry.

The analyst commented: “Surveys show that industry growth in in-app advertising (IAA) in Q1 is above the normal seasonal pace, with APP maintaining market share and META making limited progress. New Discovery ad campaigns are improving sentiment among e-commerce ad buyers.” “Industry surveys show that mobile gaming IAA revenue trends in Q1 have been better than seasonal norms (Q1 typically declines sequentially by about low single-digits, while Q1 2026 is flat sequentially). APP’s share in IAA ad inventory is unchanged year over year (although META’s share rose slightly to roughly 13–14% in Q1, compared with about 11% in Q4).”

Wells Fargo currently expects Q1 revenue of $1.82 billion, up 10% sequentially. The firm’s outlook for the company’s e-commerce business remains at $235 million, higher than $222 million in Q4, even though a turning point in the growth of new advertisers has not yet appeared.

AppLovin’s stock price is down about 40% year-to-date through 2026, as the market worries that artificial intelligence could disrupt the advertising technology industry, a January short-seller report accused the company’s major shareholders of having links to money-laundering activities, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to scrutinize data-collection practices.

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