Hsbc Holdings PLC Acquires 74,510 Shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) by 93.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 154,590 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 74,510 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in AppLovin were worth $50,082,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in APP. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of AppLovin by 92.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 318,992 shares of the company's stock worth $41,643,000 after purchasing an additional 153,248 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC raised its position in shares of AppLovin by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 6,812 shares of the company's stock worth $889,000 after buying an additional 1,284 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,211,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin during the third quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co bought a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 3rd quarter worth $228,000. 41.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AppLovin Price Performance

NASDAQ:APP traded up $2.71 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $287.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,243,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,872,442. The company has a market capitalization of $97.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.31, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $286.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $303.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.41. AppLovin Co. has a twelve month low of $60.67 and a twelve month high of $525.15.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a net margin of 33.54% and a return on equity of 188.55%. On average, analysts anticipate that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AppLovin

In other news, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.65, for a total transaction of $64,930,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 621,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $201,675,501.85. This represents a 24.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 17,500 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.65, for a total transaction of $4,228,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 88,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,359,201.85. The trade was a 16.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 306,900 shares of company stock valued at $106,401,841 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 14.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APP has been the subject of several research reports. Arete Research set a $200.00 price objective on AppLovin in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of AppLovin from $475.00 to $270.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Monday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on AppLovin from $500.00 to $335.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price objective on AppLovin from $375.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $415.15.

AppLovin Profile

AppLovin Corporation engages in building a software-based platform for advertisers to enhance the marketing and monetization of their content in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Software Platform and Apps. The company's software solutions include AppDiscovery, a marketing software solution, which matches advertiser demand with publisher supply through auctions; MAX, an in-app bidding software that optimizes the value of a publisher's advertising inventory by running a real-time competitive auction; Adjust, a measurement and analytics marketing platform that provides marketers with the visibility, insights, and tools needed to grow their apps from early stage to maturity; and Wurl, a connected TV platform, which distributes streaming video for content companies and provides advertising and publishing solutions through its AdPool, ContentDiscovery, and Global FAST Pass products.