AppLovin Corporation (APP), a leading mobile game and app advertising platform, saw its stock price plummet by 5.83% during Thursday's trading session. The decline followed critical reports from short sellers that raised concerns about the company's business practices and questioned the value of its e-commerce program.

On Tuesday, Culper Research disclosed that it had taken a short position in AppLovin's stock, betting that prices would fall. The firm alleged that AppLovin uses "gimmicks" to "force-feed silent, backdoor app installations directly onto users' phones" and questioned whether the company is as valuable as it claims to advertisers participating in its e-commerce program.

Similarly, Fuzzy Panda Research also announced a short position in AppLovin, stating that the bull case for the company's e-commerce business relies on copying data from Meta Platforms Inc., according to "experts" they consulted.