AppLovin Corporation $APP Stake Cut by QRG Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management cut its AppLovin stake by 40.0% in Q4, selling 17,904 shares and leaving it with 26,822 shares worth about $18.07 million.
• Heavy insider selling this quarter: Director Eduardo Vivas sold 163,910 shares (~$74.33M) and CEO Arash A. Foroughi sold 50,000 shares (~$23.30M), with insiders selling a total of 365,244 shares (~$169.6M); insiders now own 13.66% of the stock.
• Analysts remain generally positive with a consensus "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $673.25, though some firms (Goldman, Jefferies) have trimmed their targets in recent reports.

QRG Capital Management Inc. cut its position in shares of AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) by 40.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,822 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,904 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in AppLovin were worth $18,073,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APP. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AppLovin during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in shares of AppLovin by 760.0% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 43 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position 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 worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore restated a "buy" rating on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of AppLovin from $710.00 to $585.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $720.00 price target on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Arete Research set a $340.00 price target on shares of AppLovin and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of AppLovin from $860.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $673.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Eduardo Vivas sold 163,910 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.49, for a total value of $74,331,545.90. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,969,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,160,545,043.18. This trade represents a 2.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 50,000 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.04, for a total value of $23,302,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,480,414 shares in the company, valued at $1,155,972,140.56. This represents a 1.98% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 365,244 shares of company stock valued at $169,584,607. 13.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AppLovin Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of APP opened at $475.00 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $437.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $535.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 2.37. AppLovin Corporation has a 1-year low of $290.96 and a 1-year high of $745.61. The company has a current ratio of 3.32, a quick ratio of 3.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.61 billion. AppLovin had a return on equity of 245.64% and a net margin of 57.42%.AppLovin's revenue was up 66.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.73 EPS. Analysts expect that AppLovin Corporation will post 15.72 earnings per share for the current year.

AppLovin Company 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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