J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Makes New $342,000 Investment in AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP)

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG has acquired a new position in AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ: APP), purchasing 1,289 shares valued at approximately $342,000 in the first quarter of 2023.
• Insider transactions have included significant sales by CFO Matthew Stumpf and CTO Vasily Shikin, with both reducing their holdings by 4.81% and 32.91%, respectively, amidst broader insider selling of 1.2 million shares valued at nearly $455 million.
• As of June 9, several analysts have raised their price targets for AppLovin, with Morgan Stanley increasing theirs from $420.00 to $460.00, reflecting a generally positive market sentiment towards the company's performance.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $342,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in AppLovin by 117,664.4% during the 1st quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,702,694 shares of the company's stock valued at $716,133,000 after acquiring an additional 2,700,399 shares during the period. Capital World Investors bought a new position in AppLovin during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $421,470,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in AppLovin by 68.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,018,990 shares of the company's stock worth $977,639,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222,074 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its position in AppLovin by 29.0% in the 1st quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 5,270,355 shares of the company's stock worth $1,396,486,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185,859 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in AppLovin by 86.5% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,386,980 shares of the company's stock valued at $632,478,000 after buying an additional 1,107,104 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.85% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $335.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. HSBC set a $436.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their target price on AppLovin from $480.00 to $483.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $447.57.

Insider Activity at AppLovin

In other AppLovin news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 34,766 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.64, for a total transaction of $12,294,648.24. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 70,889 shares in the company, valued at $25,069,185.96. This represents a 32.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.51, for a total transaction of $36,751,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,760,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,014,461,006.13. The trade was a 3.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,212,968 shares of company stock worth $455,062,980. 13.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AppLovin Price Performance

APP traded up $12.64 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $390.57. 12,551,335 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,442,797. The company has a market capitalization of $132.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.22, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 2.43. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $364.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $338.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.10. AppLovin Corporation has a 52-week low of $66.16 and a 52-week high of $525.15.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. AppLovin had a net margin of 37.38% and a return on equity of 224.65%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that AppLovin Corporation will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AppLovin Company 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.