AppLovin Retail Traders Stay Cautious After AdTech Company Makes The Cut For S&P 500 Inclusion

App marketing platform AppLovin Corp.’s (APP) stock trended on Stocktwits and attracted retail buzz after S&P Dow Jones Indices confirmed its addition to the S&P 500 Index.

Retail sentiment toward AppLovin stock, however, remained ‘neutral’ (50/100) as of late Sunday, and the message volume stayed at ‘high’ levels.

S&P Dow Jones Indices said in a news release late Friday that AppLovin will replace MarketAxess Holdings (MKTX) in the S&P 500 Index, effective before the market open on Monday, Sept. 22. The proposed inclusion comes as part of the quarterly rebalancing, which also saw Robinhood Markets, Inc. (HOOD) joining the broader market gauge.

“The changes ensure each index is more representative of its market capitalization range,” the index compiler said in a statement.

The S&P 500 Index, a market-cap-weighted index, is considered the best single measure of large-cap U.S. equities, comprising 500 leading companies that collectively cover approximately 80% of the total market capitalization. The eligibility criteria for addition to the index include a market cap of $22.7 billion or more.

AppLovin, which has been shrouded in controversy over alleged false narratives of its business operations, has a market cap of $165.82 billion as of the stock’s closing price of $490.24 last Friday.

After closing at a record high of $525.15 on Feb. 13, riding on the back of its fourth-quarter results, AppLovin stock came under selling pressure amid multiple short reports. 

In March, Muddy Waters accused the company of “impermissibly extracting” user data, violating the terms of service of companies such as Apple and Meta, among other things. Fuzzy Panda also laid out similar allegations of fingerprinting. 

In June, Culper Research released a report alleging misrepresentation of its Chinese ties and raising national security concerns on that basis.

Source: Koyfin

After falling to a low of $200.50, the stock reclaimed the $500 mark last week, although it ended the week at $490.24.

Retail traders on Stocktwits discussed the stock trajectory following the news of S&P 500 inclusion. “Do we see a +10% day or will it slowly go up until Sept 22 when funds start purchasing?” one user asked.

Another user began contemplating a stock split announcement from the company.

Shrugging off the short attacks, AppLovin reported strong second-quarter results in early August.

AppLovin’s stock is up about 51% so far this year. The Koyfin-compiled consensus price target for the stock is $501.76, implying merely 2% upside from Friday’s close. 

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