APPS Stock Headed For Best Single-Day Gains In Nearly 14 Months — Q1 Beat Has Wall Street Believing That The Growth Is Just Beginning

• Analysts at Craig-Hallum called Digital Turbine "a name to own," saying they believe the company's accelerating growth is still in its early stages.
• The firm highlighted Digital Turbine's ability to grow at roughly five times the broader advertising industry's pace, driven by AI-powered optimization, expanding advertiser demand and multiple long-term growth drivers.
• Craig-Hallum raised its price target on Digital Turbine shares to $18 from $10, while keeping a ‘Buy’ rating on the stock.

Shares of Digital Turbine Inc. (APPS) were on track for their best single-day gains in nearly 14 months, hitting a 52-week high after the company’s first-quarter results surpassed Wall Street expectations.

Digital Turbine reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.19 in the first quarter (Q1) on revenue of $166 million, while Wall Street analysts expected an EPS of $0.14 on revenue of $150 million, according to Fiscal.ai data.

Digital Turbine shares were up more than 40% in Wednesday morning’s trade after paring some of the early gains. APPS was among the top trending tickers on Stocktwits at the time of writing.

Wall Street Says This Is Just The Beginning Of Growth For APPS

According to TheFly, analysts at Craig-Hallum called Digital Turbine "a name to own," saying they believe the company's accelerating growth is still in its early stages.

The firm highlighted Digital Turbine's ability to grow at roughly five times the broader advertising industry's pace, driven by AI-powered optimization, expanding advertiser demand and multiple long-term growth drivers.

Craig-Hallum raised its price target on Digital Turbine shares to $18 from $10, while keeping a ‘Buy’ rating on the stock.

Analysts at Benchmark also raised their price target following the earnings report to $16 from $15, while keeping a ‘Buy’ rating on the stock.

According to Koyfin data, all four analysts covering the stock have a ‘Buy’ rating, with an average 12-month price target of $11.

APPS CEO Says AI Is Reshaping Digital Advertising

CEO Bill Stone said AI is a tailwind for Digital Turbine, helping improve advertiser outcomes through the company's first-party data and AI capabilities while contributing to a shift in consumer activity from the open web toward mobile applications.

Stone added that Digital Turbine’s forecast increase for the fiscal year 2027 was supported by five factors: AI and data, the company's platform flywheel, its brand advertising business, the Ignite platform and alternative application distribution.

Digital Turbine now expects revenue of $650 million to $670 million in fiscal 2027, up from its prior forecast of $630 million to $650 million.

The company also reported that the annualized revenue per employee had increased from roughly $800,000 a year ago to more than $1 million due to AI-driven automation.

Beyond improving revenue per employee, Stone said AI is driving more app creation and increasing time spent in mobile apps, citing third-party data showing app releases rose 60% year-on-year between January and March this year while consumers now spend about five hours a day in apps. He added these trends are increasing demand for app distribution and monetization.

What Retail Traders Think Of APPS Stock

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around Digital Turbine trended in the ‘extremely bullish’ territory with message volumes at ‘high’ levels.

APPS stock is up 171% year-to-date and 149% over the past 12 months. The iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO) is up 32% over the past 12 months, while the iShares Micro-Cap ETF (IWC) is up 49%.

The Vanguard Information Technology Index Fund ETF (VGT) is up 41% during this period, while the Vanguard Russell 2000 Growth Index Fund ETF (VTWG) is up 33%.

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