Another day, another increase to an analyst’s target for AppLovin’s stock price.
Matthew Cost of Morgan Stanley raised his call on shares of the digital ad company by 56% to $750 on Monday, helping lift the stock to a record $745.61 in early trading, and closed higher 6.3% at $712.36. Eleven other firms have raised their targets on the stock since August, including Piper Sandler and UBS on Friday.
Analysts are upbeat about AppLovin’s prospects, projecting long-term earnings growth of 34% on average, according to FactSet. But their calls on the stock price haven’t kept up with the market, leaving them to chase the shares as they soar. The stock is up 454% in the past year, compared with 16% for the S&P 500, which the company joined on Sept. 22.
AppLovin, a digital ad platform, has been a winner in the mobile-videogame market. Sales grew by 43% in 2024, similar to the compounded annual growth rate over five years. In the first half of 2025, revenue was up 55% from the same period last year.
Analysts think AppLovin can continue this run because it is now expanding into delivering ads for nongaming apps, launching a self-serve platform for advertisers in stages. “Over the past year as APP has scaled its nongaming ads pilot, it has relied primarily on manual onboarding for new clients,” Cost says. “In our view, this self-serve launch creates the opportunity for the customer base to multiply going forward.”
He expects sales outside of the videogame industry to represent 28% of AppLovin’s revenue in 2028, compared with virtually nothing in 2024. Revenue will grow at about 40% a year over that period, Cost projects.
AppLovin stock is selling at a premium given its spectacular run, with an adjusted price-earnings ratio for the next 12 months of 55 times. But the high price would be justified if the company can maintain its torrid growth over the coming years, as analysts expect.