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More than 25% of S&P 500 stocks are down 40% or more from their highs, even with the index near record levels, as of October 8, 2026. The Motley Fool sees that as a chance to hunt for bargains in tech. It names four picks. Netflix trades at about 18.5 times 2027 analyst earnings estimates, and advertising should drive its growth. Oracle has a $664 billion backlog in cloud infrastructure, but carries heavy debt and burns cash. ServiceNow, hit by the 2026 software sell-off, trades at 7.5 times forward sales as it pushes into agentic AI. AppLovin trades at 13 times 2027 earnings estimates. Its revenue rose 53% last quarter to $1.9 billion.

Digital advertising giant allegedly served 'obscene' ads to kids, 'graphic depictions of sex': lawsuit. By News Room 6 October 2026 4 Mins Read Digital advertising giant AppLovin has allegedly been serving sexually explicit and violent ads in games played by kids - all while bypassing parental controls meant to shield them, according to allegations in a bombshell lawsuit filed on Monday. Filed in California state court, the lawsuit alleges that AppLovin - a $100 billion company that helps software developers sell ads and monetize their apps - has been "exposing children to graphic depictions of sex, violence, and sexual assault delivered directly to their mobile devices through games designed for and rated as safe for children." Alarming screenshots included the lawsuit show a variety of scantily-clad cartoon women in sexually suggestive situations including bondage, as well as ads for alcohol, vaping devices and cannabis gummies that appeared in games that were rated "E for everyone" on Google's Play Store. "While parents do everything they can to protect their kids playing mobile games from harmful content, AppLovin strips away those digital safeguards and steers obscene advertisements to children anyway," according to the lawsuit filed by San Diego County officials. AppLovin representatives did not respond to a request for comment. San Diego County has accused AppLovin of violations under California's False Advertising Law and Unfair Competition Law. Its lawyers are seeking injunctive relief as well as unspecific restitution and civil penalties. AppLovin's internal policies state that the company does not "knowingly collect personal information from children or serve advertisements to children," according to its website. The lawsuit accused AppLovin of collecting vast troves of kids' data through a technique called "fingerprinting" to target children. The information gathered was allegedly "precise enough to pinpoint where kids live, where they study, and whether they are sleeping." "AppLovin has turned child-friendly mobile games into a surveillance platform that tracks childrens and adults alike, monetizes their personal information, and deploys a deceptive user interface to mislead and coerce users into generating revenue for the company," the lawsuit says. The Silicon Valley company, which was once in the running to buy TikTok, has increasingly faced scrutiny over its data practices since last year. San Diego's lawsuit cites investigations compiled by short-seller firms Fuzzy Panda, Culper Research and Muddy Waters, which "collectively alleged that the company collected data from children and showed obscene ads in games played by minors." In October 2025, The Post reported that state regulators, including staff from the attorneys general from Delaware, Oregon and Connecticut, had reached out to multiple short sellers, seemingly as part of a preliminary investigation into AppLovin. The current status of those probes could not immediately be learned. Elsewhere, the Securities and Exchange Commission launched an investigation into AppLovin's advertising practices last. However, the company's CFO Mat Stumpf said last August that the SEC's investigation had closed without any enforcement action. AppLovin has strenuously denied any wrongdoing - with its CEO Adam Foroughi going as far as to write a blog post disputing the short sellers' allegations in February 2025. "It's disappointing that a few nefarious short-sellers are making false and misleading claims aimed at undermining our success, and driving down our stock price for their own financial gain, rather than acknowledging the sophisticated AI models our team has built to enhance advertising for our partners," Foroughi said at the time. The new lawsuit coincided with the launch of San Diego County's new Consumer Fairness and Public Protection Unit, which also announced lawsuits targeting Roblox and Polymarket over apparent violations. "People should be able to trust the products they buy, the apps their kids use and the companies they deal with," San Diego County Boar Chair Terra Lawson-Remer said in a statement. "Families are already stretched thin by the cost of living. They should not also have to pay the price when companies mislead them, misuse their information or put their kids at risk," Lawson-Remer added.

The 2 best Nasdaq-100 stocks to buy now, according to Wall Street. Wall Street says AppLovin and Axon Enterprise are the best Nasdaq-100 stocks to buy now. Key points. * Wall Street's median target prices imply substantial upside in AppLovin and Axon. * AppLovin is an ad tech company that uses artificial intelligence to optimize campaign performance. * Axon is a public safety company to develops connected devices and software for law enforcement. * Motley Fool Issues Rare "Total Conviction" Buy Alert" The Nasdaq-100 includes the 100 largest non-financial companies in the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC +1.05%). It is widely regarded as a benchmark for growth stocks because it is heavily weighted toward the technology sector. While the broad-based S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.66%) added 323% during the last decade, the Nasdaq-100 added 593%. Listed below are the two best Nasdaq-100 stocks to buy today based on the upside implied by Wall Street's median 12-month target prices as of Oct. 4: * AppLovin (APP +5.13%) has a median target price of $500 per share. That implies 86% upside from its current share price of $268. * Axon Enterprise (AXON -0.37%) has a median target price of $700 per share. That implies 69% upside from its current share price of $413. Here's what investors should know about these stocks. AppLovin: 86% upside implied by Wall Street's median target price. AppLovin is an ad tech company that initially focused on mobile gaming, with products that helped publishers market and monetize applications. But last year, the company expanded into e-commerce advertising with a self-service platform. AppLovin recently started adding generative AI creative tools, and it plans to automate the whole advertising process in the future, from campaign creation to optimization. AppLovin has a key competitive advantage in its Axon recommendation engine. The underlying machine learning models are trained to optimize ad buying in real time based on which users are predicted to take valuable actions. The models become more effective with each new data point, creating a network effect that leads to better recommendations over time. AppLovin reported decent financial results in the second quarter despite narrowly missing top-line estimates. Revenue increased 53% to $1.9 billion, and GAAP net income increased 57% to $3.76 per diluted share. At the midpoint, management expects revenue to total $2.07 billion in the third quarter, implying 47% growth. Wall Street estimates AppLovin's earnings will grow at 35% annually through 2027. That makes the current valuation of 22 times earnings look cheap, and it explains why so many analysts see substantial upside in the stock. Now is a good time to buy a small stake in this ad tech company. Premium Feature Moneyball Superscore ( 5.13 %) $ 13.75 Current Price Key data points. Market Cap Day's Range $ 270.00 - $ 287.20 52wk Range $ 266.84 - $ 738.01 Gross Margin Axon Enterprise: 69% upside implied by Wall Street's median target price. Axon develops public safety products for law enforcement, enterprises, and government agencies. Its hardware portfolio includes conducted energy weapons (Tasers), body-worn cameras, and in-car cameras. Its software portfolio includes products for digital evidence management, records management, emergency communications, and real-time operations. Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare signal is flashing again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. If you'd invested $5,000 then, you'd be sitting on $3,041,109 today.* Now, for the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. It's a key player in the $1.8 trillion space race, and with the stock recently sitting 20% off its highs, the window to get in early is closing fast. *Stock Advisor returns as of October 6, 2026. Axon is the market leader in Tasers, body-worn cameras, and digital evidence management software, and the company is supercharging its products with AI features that improve law enforcement productivity and efficiency. For instance, Draft One uses body-worn camera video and generative AI to draft reports. And Axon Fusus uses AI to process video and alert human operators to situations like physical fights and vehicle crashes. Axon reported strong second-quarter financial results that handily beat estimates on the top and bottom lines. Revenue increased 35% to $904 billion, driven strong growth across connected devices and software products, including newer solutions for dispatch, real-time operations, and AI. Meanwhile, non-GAAP EBITDA increased 41% to $242 million. The company also raised its full-year guidance, which now implies 33% revenue growth in 2026. Wall Street expects Axon's adjusted earnings to grow at 35% annually through 2027. That makes the current valuation of 61 times adjusted earnings look rich, but not outrageously expensive. Patient investors with a time horizon of at least five years can buy a few shares today, but I would keep the position relatively small unless the stock drops 20% or so. If that happens, the valuation would be much more attractive. Could AppLovin help you build long-term wealth? Before you buy stock in AppLovin, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now... and AppLovin wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of its recommendation, you'd have $361,650!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of its recommendation, you'd have $1,437,517!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 936% - a market-crushing outperformance compared to 213% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors. *Stock Advisor returns as of October 6, 2026.