AppLovin Corporation $APP Shares Acquired by Erste Asset Management GmbH

Key Points

• Erste Asset Management increased its AppLovin stake by 430.8% in the second quarter, holding 58,937 shares valued at approximately $29.4 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 41.85% of the company.
• AppLovin reported strong year-over-year revenue growth of 52.8% and met earnings-per-share expectations, but quarterly revenue and adjusted EBITDA came in slightly below forecasts, raising concerns about the durability of gaming-advertising growth.
• Wall Street’s consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $565.91, although analyst views are mixed amid competition from Unity and Meta. Shares opened at $315.44, near the company’s 12-month low of $303.17, while insiders have sold roughly $197.3 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) by 430.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,937 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 47,833 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH's holdings in AppLovin were worth $29,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of AppLovin by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Pioneer Family Office LLC bought a new position in AppLovin during the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.85% of the company's stock.

Key AppLovin News

Here are the key news stories impacting AppLovin this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts remain constructive on AppLovin’s valuation and financial profile. Phillip Securities upgraded the stock, while a recent analysis argued that the shares may be mispriced relative to the company’s fundamentals after reaching a 52-week low. AppLovin Upgraded at Phillip Securities AppLovin at 52-Week Low
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan initiated coverage with a Neutral rating, recognizing AppLovin’s strong profitability and balance-sheet profile while questioning whether its rapid mobile-gaming advertising growth can continue. Bank of America also rates the shares Neutral. JPMorgan Initiates AppLovin Coverage Bank of America Neutral Rating
• Negative Sentiment: AppLovin’s latest quarterly results fell slightly short of revenue expectations, and adjusted EBITDA also missed estimates. Management attributed the weakness to slower-than-usual improvements in its core gaming advertising models, intensifying concerns about earnings-growth durability. AppLovin Q2 Earnings Call
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive risks from Unity and Meta, as well as questions about whether Google could challenge AppLovin’s advertising position, are weighing on the investment narrative. BTIG issued a pessimistic forecast, and another analyst downgrade previously contributed to selling pressure. BTIG Forecast for AppLovin AppLovin and Google Competition
• Negative Sentiment: Quant fund Renaissance Technologies exited its AppLovin position, a potential additional overhang for sentiment even though the move reflects portfolio management rather than a fundamental company announcement. Renaissance Changes Holdings

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector outperform" rating and set a $515.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and issued a $660.00 price target on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of AppLovin from $720.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Phillip Securities raised shares of AppLovin from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $565.91.

AppLovin Price Performance

Shares of APP opened at $315.44 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $105.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.25, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 2.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $447.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $456.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 4.30 and a quick ratio of 4.30. AppLovin Corporation has a 12 month low of $303.17 and a 12 month high of $745.61.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $3.76 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $3.76. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. AppLovin had a return on equity of 193.10% and a net margin of 64.58%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 52.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that AppLovin Corporation will post 15.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AppLovin

In related news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 33,042 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.95, for a total value of $16,089,801.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,369,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,153,755,469.45. This trade represents a 1.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 62,804 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $484.42, for a total transaction of $30,423,513.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 3,189,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,545,173,366.38. This represents a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 393,000 shares of company stock valued at $197,297,363. Corporate insiders own 12.81% of the company's stock.

AppLovin Profile

AppLovin Corporation is a Palo Alto–based mobile technology company that provides software and services to help app developers grow and monetize their businesses. The company operates a data-driven advertising and marketing platform that connects app publishers and advertisers, delivering tools for user acquisition, monetization, analytics and creative optimization. AppLovin's technology is integrated into a broad set of mobile applications through software development kits (SDKs) and ad products designed to maximize revenue and engagement for developers.

Key components of AppLovin's offering include an ad mediation and exchange platform that enables publishers to manage and monetize inventory across multiple demand sources, and a user-acquisition platform that helps advertisers target and scale campaigns.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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