AppLovin Corporation $APP Shares Bought by Bessemer Group Inc.

Key Points

• Bessemer Group Inc. dramatically increased its AppLovin stake by 1,234.9% in the fourth quarter, ending with 119,940 shares valued at about $80.8 million.
• AppLovin reported strong quarterly results, posting $3.56 EPS versus $3.44 expected and revenue of $1.84 billion, up 58.9% year over year.
• Analysts remain constructive on the stock overall, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $664.35, even as several insiders sold shares recently.

Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) by 1,234.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 119,940 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 110,955 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in AppLovin were worth $80,819,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of APP. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of AppLovin by 58.6% during the third quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 46 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of AppLovin by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 640 shares of the company's stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AppLovin by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the company's stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC increased its stake in AppLovin by 3.2% during the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 647 shares of the company's stock valued at $465,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Advocates LLC increased its stake in AppLovin by 0.8% during the third quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC now owns 2,576 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,851,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AppLovin Price Performance

Shares of AppLovin stock opened at $501.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company's 50-day moving average price is $447.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $529.13. AppLovin Corporation has a 52 week low of $320.00 and a 52 week high of $745.61. The stock has a market cap of $168.31 billion, a PE ratio of 43.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 2.37.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.12. AppLovin had a net margin of 64.29% and a return on equity of 219.37%. The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.67 earnings per share. AppLovin's revenue for the quarter was up 58.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AppLovin Corporation will post 15.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Argus initiated coverage on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $520.00 target price for the company. Arete Research set a $340.00 target price on shares of AppLovin and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of AppLovin from $860.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $660.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of AppLovin from $740.00 to $716.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $664.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AppLovin news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 5,231 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.47, for a total value of $2,497,645.57. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 30,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,638,275.26. The trade was a 14.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 40,704 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.85, for a total transaction of $18,717,734.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,430,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,117,625,877.90. This trade represents a 1.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 365,244 shares of company stock worth $169,584,607. 13.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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