Group 1 - Needham upgraded AppLovin from Hold to Buy and set a price target of $700, reflecting increased confidence in the company's e-commerce revenue trajectory for 2026 [1] - Shares of AppLovin rose more than 5% intra-day on the day of the upgrade [1] - Needham raised its 2026 e-commerce revenue estimate to $1.45 billion from $1.05 billion, indicating expectations for sequential growth in the first quarter [2] Group 2 - The firm anticipates that advertiser growth from AppLovin's self-service platform launch and higher spending levels will offset typical first-quarter seasonality [2] - There remains potential upside to estimates under a bullish scenario, where AppLovin's e-commerce business could follow a revenue trajectory similar to TikTok [3] - The upgrade was influenced by the stock's recent pullback from highs reached about one month earlier, improving the entry point for investors [3]