Key Points
Using a compelling adjective, he flagged it as a strong buy.
The move comes after the company opened its ecommerce ad platform to all advertisers.
- 10 stocks we like better than AppLovin ›
Mr. Market was expressing some affection for AppLovin (NASDAQ: APP) over the past few trading days. Shares of the adtech company were rising by over 10% week to date as of late Thursday evening. A highly positive initiation of coverage from an analyst was a major reason for the pop.
One strong move by a pundit
This occurred Monday morning, when Andrew Marok of Raymond James launched his tracking of AppLovin's equity with a strong buy recommendation. Consistent with this highly optimistic rating, he set a price target of $640 per share on the specialized tech stock. That's more than 21% higher than its most recent closing price.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
Image source: Getty Images.
According to reports, a key reason for Marok's bullishness is his general view that the e-commerce advertising market will continue to expand. That's fortunate for AppLovin, as in late June the company effectively opened its self-serve platform to all advertisers (previously, a referral was required).
The platform's new name, AppLovin Ads, is buttressed by the greatly expanded Axon artificial intelligence (AI) model that powers it. Having moved from its previous narrow focus on mobile gaming, the platform is now available as a tool for the immense and ever-growing e-commerce crowd.
The analyst added that he's expecting revenue growth of over 40%, accompanied by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) margins topping 80%.
Pricey but worth it
I think the thrust of Marok's argument is compelling and realistic. AppLovin is rapidly becoming a double threat, with its core mobile app advertising business and its continued push into e-commerce making for quite a potentially high-growth combination. This stock isn't cheap, either on price or valuations, but it's one of those companies that has an excellent chance of justifying such levels.
Should you buy stock in AppLovin right now?
Before you buy stock in AppLovin, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and AppLovin wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $400,101!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,212,683!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 911% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 208% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of July 2, 2026.
Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
