New York, January 9, 2026, 17:33 EST — After-hours
AppLovin Corp shares rose about 5% on Friday to close at $647.72, after swinging between $612.65 and $649.51. The stock was little changed in after-hours trading, with traders marking the day’s low as near-term support and the $650 area as the next resistance.
The move matters now because the stock has become a pressure point into the next earnings update, with investors looking for any read on ad budgets early in 2026. AppLovin has also been one of the market’s more volatile ad-tech names, so even routine analyst tweaks can get amplified.
Wells Fargo analyst Alec Brondolo on Thursday raised his price target on AppLovin to $735 from $721 and kept an Overweight rating. He lifted fourth-quarter revenue estimates by 3% on what he called strong mobile game checks, but said web ad trends were “mixed,” with “prospecting” (ads aimed at finding new customers) stronger even as wallet share — the slice of advertiser budgets — looked about flat year over year. (TipRanks)
AppLovin, headquartered in Palo Alto, California, sells advertising software that helps businesses reach and monetize audiences, according to a prior company filing. (SEC)
What investors want next is less about the target price and more about the shape of demand: how much growth is still coming from mobile gaming, and whether web advertising can carry more weight without squeezing returns. A conservative outlook can still sting if expectations are already stretched.
But AppLovin has faced scrutiny over its data-collection practices. Reuters reported in October that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was probing the company after a whistleblower complaint and short-seller reports, and any fresh headline there could revive downside pressure. (Reuters)
The next clear catalyst is AppLovin’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call on Feb. 11 at 2:00 p.m. PT (5:00 p.m. ET). Traders will be watching the outlook and any signal on web advertising momentum alongside core mobile demand. (Applovin)
