$APP
AppLovin price target lowered to $74 from $100 at Oppenheimer
Oppenheimer analyst Martin Yang lowered the firm's price target on AppLovin to $74 from $100 on peer multiple compression, while keeping an Outperform rating on the shares following quarterly results. After setting lower growth expectation for 1P games in Q4, AppLovin's management made another leap forward in Q1 to de-emphasize games, the analyst notes. This time, AppLovin states that 1P games will no longer be operated as a strategically integrated assets-they will be reviewed based on their financial contribution and could be restructured or even sold. This signals a 180-degree turn from the "Strategic Flywheel" argument for integrating APPs to Software Platforms at the company's IPO barely a year ago, Yang adds, points out that the company is evolving at "extraordinary speed." While the analyst has reservations on how effective it can stay without 1P games, its recent results clearly showed Software can maintain momentum despite declines in Apps.
