AppLovin Corporation (APP) Market Value Craters $20 Billion On March 27 After Muddy Waters Takes Aim, Class Action Pending - Hagens Berman

SAN FRANCISCO, April 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 27, 2025, investors in AppLovin (NASDAQ: APP) saw the price of their shares drop $65.92, wiping out about $20 billion of the company's market value, after prominent short seller Muddy Waters Research revealed its short position in the stock.

Muddy Waters' report comes on the heels of a recently filed securities class action lawsuit, captioned Quiero v. AppLovin Corporation, et al., No. 4:25-cv-02294 (N.D. Cal.). The suit seeks to represent investors who purchased AppLovin securities between May 10, 2023 and February 25, 2025.

Hagens Berman is investigating the claims and urges investors who purchased AppLovin shares and suffered substantial losses to submit your losses now.

Class Period: May 10, 2023 – Feb. 25, 2025
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: May 5, 2025
Visit: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/app
Contact the Firm Now: [email protected]
                                       844-916-0895

Recent Development:

On March 27, 2025, Muddy Waters Research published a scathing report titled "AppLovin: Deep Data Analysis Shows APP is Just Another Scammy AdTech Company."

The report's focus is in part on "retargeting" (a strategy that aims to re-engage potential customers who have previously interacted with a brand), "incrementality" (the additional or incremental lift in sales or conversions that a marketing activity generates), and AppLovin's compliance with third party platforms' TOS (terms of service).

Muddy Waters contends that "APP e-commerce is Mostly Retargeting, Incrementality is Low, and it Clearly Violates Platforms' TOS." Muddy Waters alleges that:

• "Sales are only ~25%-35% Incremental, but APP's CEO Claims it's ~100%[;]"
• "APP Systematically Violates TOS by Creating Persistent Identity Graphs (PIGs)[,]" "a type of 'fingerprinting,' a form of digital profiling of individual users without their knowledge or consent to track them across the web[;]" and
• APP "could be deplatformed" because "[f]ingerprinting without consent generally violates key privacy rules and TOS with its major platform partners."

AppLovin Corporation (APP) Securities Class Action:

The Muddy Waters report follows the filing of a securities class action complaint alleging AppLovin made false and misleading statements, while failing to disclose critical details about its flagship AXON 2.0 digital advertising platform. The company had heavily promoted the platform as "the best and fastest-growing product we've ever released." Investors were allegedly led to believe that the platform, which reportedly leverages "cutting-edge AI technologies," would redefine the digital advertising landscape by enhancing ad placement efficiency and expanding into e-commerce and web-based marketing.

However, the alleged narrative first shifted on February 26, 2025, when short sellers Fuzzy Panda Research and Culper Research published damaging reports that raised pointed questions about the company's claims. Both research firms accused AppLovin of misleading investors regarding the platform's true capabilities and ethical practices.

Fuzzy Panda Research alleged that the company violated app store policies by exploiting user data in questionable ways, predicting that tech giants Apple and Google would ban AppLovin from their app stores. Additionally, they accused AppLovin of "stealing data from Meta" as part of its e-commerce initiatives, foreseeing swift retaliation from Meta.

Culper Research criticized the company for allegedly using AXON 2.0 as little more than a promotional facade to obscure the real drivers behind its business strategy. Culper's report further claimed that AppLovin's growth in mobile gaming has relied on "systematic exploitation of app permissions that enable advertisements themselves to force-feed silent, backdoor app installations onto users' phones, with just a single click – an event that is often inadvertent thanks to the Company's notorious UX gimmicks" and that "each illicit install translates directly to profit."

"We are investigating claims that AppLovin may have misled investors about whether its growth may be attributable to illegitimate conduct," said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman Partner leading the firm's probe.

If you invested in AppLovin and have substantial losses, or have knowledge that may assist the firm's investigation, submit your losses now »

If you'd like more information and answers to frequently asked questions about the AppLovin case and our investigation, read more »

Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding AppLovin should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email [email protected].

About Hagens Berman
Hagens Berman is a global plaintiffs' rights complex litigation firm focusing on corporate accountability. The firm is home to a robust practice and represents investors as well as whistleblowers, workers, consumers and others in cases achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and other wrongdoings. Hagens Berman's team has secured more than $2.9 billion in this area of law. More about the firm and its successes can be found at hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw. 

SOURCE Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP