Last month, AppLovin (APP 1.94%) was punished by investors more for what it didn't do than for what it actually did. A hoped-for graduation to a top stock index was one of the non-occurrences, while a short-seller felt compelled to write a scathing report on the company. In some respects, AppLovin was fortunate that its stock didn't decline more deeply than the sub-11% dip it experienced across June.
Coming up short
The index let-down, such as it was, occurred near the top of the month. Every quarter, S&P Dow Jones Indices, the operator of the closely followed S&P 500 index (among many others), likes to "rebalance" the index, replacing component stocks deemed no longer suitable with new ones.
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Several days ahead of the current rebalancing, speculation grew about which companies would land on the hallowed index. AppLovin was mentioned as one of those candidates, at least by a team of analysts at heavyweight lender Bank of America.
The leading prospect, in their take, was online securities brokerage Robinhood Markets, but it also mentioned six other prospects. Among these was AppLovin. Alas, S&P Dow Jones Indices performed what felt like a head fake, electing not to change the composition of the S&P 500 index at all this time.
The market can usually shrug off a non-event like this, disappointing as it may be initially. It's tougher to ignore a highly critical and detailed analysis of a stock, such as the ones typically published by institutional short-sellers. Unfortunately for AppLovin, that's exactly what happened when such a firm trained its sights on the company.
In mid-June, the firm, Culper Research, unveiled a rather sprawling 30-page screed criticizing AppLovin's business practices. Many of its accusations pertained to AppLovin's goal of acquiring the non-Chinese operations of controversial social media video app TikTok, a service that has fallen afoul of the U.S. government.
In the report, Culper intimated that a significant AppLovin shareholder, Hao Tang, is an individual with a shady past and "extensive direct and indirect ties" to certain dark corners of the Chinese government. It decried this "covert Chinese ownership," and warned of the danger posed to U.S. national security.
NASDAQ: APP
Key Data Points
Radio silence
AppLovin hasn't made any official statement on the Culper Research allegations. Perhaps, management feels they'll blow over with investors before long.
Personally, I'd view that as a mistake since troubling allegations like the ones the short-seller raises have a way of lingering and, in turn, negatively affecting investor morale. We'll see whether the company can deliver news encouraging enough to dislodge the numerous accusations from the collective investor memory.
