AppLovin (APP) Under Pressure: Analyst Downgrades Follow Short Seller Barrage, Investor Lawsuit – Hagens Berman

Core Viewpoint - AppLovin Corp. is experiencing a significant shift in investor sentiment following a 700% stock surge, with major investment banks downgrading their price targets due to critical reports from short-selling firms [1][2] Group 1: Stock Performance and Analyst Downgrades - AppLovin's stock price target was reduced by Goldman Sachs from $500.00 to $335.00, and UBS Group lowered its target from $630.00 to $450.00 [2] - The downgrades are a response to multiple negative reports from short sellers, indicating a loss of confidence in the company's future performance [2][3] Group 2: Legal Challenges - AppLovin is facing a securities class action lawsuit alleging misleading statements regarding its AXON 2.0 digital ad platform and AI technologies [4] - The lawsuit claims that AppLovin misrepresented its technology's capabilities and engaged in manipulative practices, including exploiting advertising data from Meta Platforms [4][5] Group 3: Short Seller Allegations - Muddy Waters Research accused AppLovin of violating app store rules by extracting proprietary IDs without user consent and claimed a high churn rate among e-commerce advertisers [3] - Previous reports from Fuzzy Panda Research and Culper Research also criticized AppLovin for alleged data theft and revenue fraud [4] - Following the release of these reports, AppLovin's share price reportedly fell by over 12% [5]