Fred Alger Management LLC Increases Stake in AppLovin Corporation $APP

Key Points

• Fred Alger Management LLC has increased its stake in AppLovin Corporation by 12% in Q1, now holding 2,833,792 shares or 4.3% of its total portfolio, valued at approximately $750.9 million.
• Several institutional investors, including MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS and Insight Holdings Group LLC, have significantly increased their positions in AppLovin during the same period, indicating heightened interest in the stock.
• AppLovin’s recent earnings report showed an EPS of $2.26, beating expectations, but revenue fell short at $1.26 billion, leading to diverse analyst ratings with targets ranging from $480 to $620.

Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its position in AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) by 12.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,833,792 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 303,063 shares during the period. AppLovin comprises 4.3% of Fred Alger Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Fred Alger Management LLC owned approximately 0.83% of AppLovin worth $750,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Scientech Research LLC grew its position in AppLovin by 1,300.3% in the 1st quarter. Scientech Research LLC now owns 8,822 shares of the company's stock worth $2,338,000 after purchasing an additional 8,192 shares in the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV grew its position in AppLovin by 14.3% in the 1st quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 63,608 shares of the company's stock worth $16,854,000 after purchasing an additional 7,945 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in AppLovin by 78.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 327,800 shares of the company's stock worth $86,878,000 after purchasing an additional 144,130 shares in the last quarter. Insight Holdings Group LLC grew its position in AppLovin by 178.0% in the 1st quarter. Insight Holdings Group LLC now owns 13,900 shares of the company's stock worth $3,683,000 after purchasing an additional 8,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its position in AppLovin by 58.0% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,692 shares of the company's stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AppLovin Stock Performance

Shares of APP stock traded up $8.95 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $567.12. 6,718,924 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,065,088. The company has a market capitalization of $191.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.56, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 2.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01. The firm's 50-day moving average is $410.43 and its 200 day moving average is $349.45. AppLovin Corporation has a 1 year low of $87.12 and a 1 year high of $576.01.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.21. AppLovin had a net margin of 45.72% and a return on equity of 252.67%. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 77.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that AppLovin Corporation will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Matthew Stumpf sold 4,874 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.18, for a total transaction of $2,028,461.32. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 181,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,602,010.26. This trade represents a 2.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 17,012 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $438.22, for a total transaction of $7,454,998.64. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 53,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,396,127.58. This represents a 24.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,156,788 shares of company stock worth $514,863,333. Corporate insiders own 13.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $480.00 to $483.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of AppLovin to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $620.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of AppLovin from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AppLovin has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $482.86.

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.