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AppLovin Corporation (APP) Faces Investor Scrutiny After Losing Over $13.7 Billion Of Shareholder Value After Fuzzy Panda Research and Culper Research Take Aim Hagens Berman
Globe Newswire 27-Feb-2025 6:09 PM
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On February 26, 2025, the price of AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP), a prominent software-based platform company for advertisers to enhance marketing and monetization of their content, shares tumbled $46.06 (-12%) as a result of two short seller research firms' accusations about the company's AI ad technology, AXON 2.0 -- the source of the company's considerable boost in ad performance and dramatic increase in the number of installs.
Hagens Berman is investigating the possible misconduct and urges investors who purchased AppLovin shares and suffered substantial losses to submit your losses now.
AppLovin has repeatedly touted AXON 2.0 as "the best and fastest-growing product we've ever released."
The investigation is focused on whether the company may have improperly withheld crucial information from investors about what AXON 2.0 actually does and the manner in which it has driven revenue growth.
By February 26, 2025, AppLovin's claims about the sources of its growth came under investor scrutiny after Fuzzy Panda Research and Culper Research published adverse research reports about the company, both raising serious concerns about whether AppLovin has been misrepresenting investors about Axon 2.0.
More specifically, Fuzzy Panda's report, titled "AppLovin (APP) – Formers Allege Ad Fraud; Is DTC Hype Actually ‘Stealing' Meta's Data; Illegal Trafficking of Children & Serving Sex Ads to Kids," which predicts Apple and Google will kick AppLovin out of their app stores and Meta will act quickly to shut it down. Among other things, Fuzzy Panda found:
"Axon 2.0 is the nexus of a House of Cards built upon tactics that formers and experts refer to as ‘Ad Fraud[;]'"
"We believe AppLovin has pulled every trick in the book[;]"
"We've been told they are stealing data from Meta in their e-commerce push[;]"
"We also discovered AppLovin exploiting consumers and their data in ways which are clear violations of Google and Apple's app store policies[;]" and
"Our tests on Children's Devices Uncovered AppLovin Serving Sex Ads to 7- & 12-year-old girls."
Culper Research's report, titled "AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP): Force Feeding Users with Silent Backdoor Installs and Copying Meta's Homework. Straight to the Principal's Office, Please," concludes that "AppLovin has employed AXON 2.0 largely as a promotional tool – a smokescreen to hide the true drivers of its mobile gaming and e-commerce initiatives, neither have much to do with AI." Culper further found, in part:
"[W]e believe AppLovin's recent success in mobile gaming stems from the 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."
"As AppLovin is paid largely on a per-install basis, each illicit install translates directly to profit."
These events wiped out over $13.7 billion of shareholder value on February 26, 2025.
"We are concerned that AppLovin may have misled investors about whether the source of its revenues and growth may be attributable to nefarious 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 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 APP@hbsslaw.com.
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.
