We recently published a list of 10 Unstoppable Stocks That Could Double Your Money. In this article, we are going to take a look at where AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) stands against other unstoppable stocks that could double your money.
Generating significant returns and multiplying their money in the stock market remains a primary goal for most investors. However, high excess returns (alpha) are challenging to generate, let alone doubling money. For example, if someone took a bet on the overall economy and bought the broader market index, it would have taken around five to seven years for them to double the investments, as these indices usually take that much time, depending on the economic cycle and market trends. Such gains are never easy to replicate, but certain companies and sectors are better positioned for high growth due to strong fundamentals, innovation, or macroeconomic trends. Investors who can identify these stocks through research and understanding market cycles can generate extra returns. Moreover, specific stocks’ valuation and growth trajectory over the next few years must be precisely analysed to make good returns.
Over the last five years, the stock market has been highly dynamic, reflecting broader economic shifts, interest rate cycles, and technological advancements. While 2023 and 2024 were volatile because of concerns over inflation, the Federal Reserve policy, and geopolitical tensions, 2025 has been equally volatile, with the S&P 500 down 3% and the Nasdaq down around 8% (as of March 27). This volatility makes higher returns riskier.
Nevertheless, market analysts are still optimistic about gains in 2025. In an interview with CNBC on April 1, Chris Hyzy, Merrill and BofA Private Bank CIO, said he would use recent market weakness to increase positions and favour broad market exposure through equal-weighted S&P positions. He identifies financials and consumer discretionary stocks as particularly oversold and attractive. He also believes that certain areas, like software and cybersecurity, could lead the technology sector in share market gains in the coming months. Chris also suggested that while uncertainty may persist into the summer, markets will likely begin pricing in anticipated improvements in economic conditions and corporate earnings later in the year. According to his assessment, the job market remains stable and strong, which would mean a sharp economic downturn is unlikely. He expects the market to experience a “sawtooth bottom” rather than a sharp V-shaped recovery, suggesting that long-term opportunities remain despite persisting volatility.
Fundstrat’s head of research, Tom Lee, stated to CNBC on March 31 that market conditions indicate oversold status and potential bottom formation regardless of ongoing downward trends. Investors maintain their focus on government policies and tariff situations, and their economic impact. According to his estimates, the April 2 tariff updates should also clarify the future of policies and could potentially reduce selling pressure in the market. He also believes that as and when the Federal Reserve communicates further on interest rates, inflation, and other policies, it should provide more direction to investors.
In essence, opportunities could emerge in the near term, and investors should look for better entry points to create positions to generate more substantial returns. But stock selection also remains key. According to Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s March 24 report, Embracing a Broader Equity Landscape, while the technology sector remains a key driver of growth in 2025, the dominance of a few large U.S. tech companies appears to be waning. The authors highlighted that capital is beginning to diversify beyond the Magnificent 7, and many of today’s market leaders may not sustain their positions at the top. This evolving market dynamic presents new opportunities for active investors, particularly in smaller-cap equities, high-quality businesses outside the U.S., and differentiated long-term investment themes. As leadership broadens, they believe this shift could mark the beginning of a more favorable environment for stock selection across the global equity landscape.
In recent months, many analysts and fund managers have favored diversifying towards small- and mid-cap stocks; thus, this space should remain on investors’ radars. At the same time, investors should be aware of the risks involved in high-performing equities.
Our Methodology
To identify the unstoppable stocks that could double investors’ money, we used online screeners to compile a list of U.S.-listed companies with a market capitalization exceeding $2 billion and with a greater than 20% return in the last one year. We then applied an additional criterion, considering only those stocks with an expected upside of around 100% or more. From the refined list, we took the top 10 stocks with the highest upside potential and ranked them in ascending order of respective upsides. Additionally, we provided insights into hedge fund sentiment surrounding these stocks, using data from Insider Monkey’s Q4 2024 database.
Note: All pricing data is as of market close on March 27, 2025. 1-year returns are calculated from March 27, 2024.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
A close-up of a mobile device, showing an advertiser reaching out to a consumer via a software-based platform.
Applovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP)
1-Year Return: 280%
Upside Potential: 110%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 95
AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) operates a software platform that helps mobile app developers increase their business reach using innovative marketing tools, analytics, and monetization components. The company provides services that cover user acquisition initiatives, as well as monetisation features, performance evaluation options, and optimization capabilities. Additionally, the company operates a portfolio of mobile games under its Lion Studios brand.
On March 27, AppLovin’s stock plummeted by 20% following a report by short-seller Muddy Waters. The report accused the company’s e-commerce operations of heavy reliance on retargeting, delivering limited incremental value, as well as violating the terms of service of major digital advertising platforms. The main allegation accused AppLovin of achieving 52% e-commerce conversions from retargeted users when their actual valid sales reached 25% to 35% of the total. AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) disputed all accusations by calling them false and misleading information that was targeted to damage their business reputation.
Analysis from Wells Fargo analyst Alec Bonello also confirmed that AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) demonstrates excellent e-commerce incrementality according to their data. The research reveals that between 55% and 60% of e-commerce customers make their first purchase at the brand, which opposes claims about targeting existing customers with more than half of the ads. The report also criticised Muddy Waters’ reliance on data from only five customers, arguing that the churn observed is typical of an e-commerce business still in its early stages. The analyst reiterated an Overweight rating on the shares, with a price target set at $538.
Applovin (NASDAQ:APP) has delivered a remarkable 280% share price return over the past year.
Overall, APP ranks 8th on our list of unstoppable stocks that could double your money. While we acknowledge the potential of APP to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than APP but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.