Primecap Management Co. CA Raises Position in AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP)

Key Points

• Primecap Management Co. CA increased its stake in AppLovin Corporation by 13.5% during the first quarter, owning 395,100 shares valued at approximately $104.7 million.
• AppLovin's stock received favorable ratings from several analysts, with a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating and a price target around $447.57.
• AppLovin reported strong quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $2.39, exceeding estimates and showing a 77.1% year-over-year revenue increase.

Primecap Management Co. CA grew its position in shares of AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) by 13.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 395,100 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 47,000 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned 0.12% of AppLovin worth $104,690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth $294,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in AppLovin in the 4th quarter valued at about $236,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in AppLovin by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 526 shares of the company's stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd grew its holdings in AppLovin by 172.8% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 159,750 shares of the company's stock worth $51,732,000 after purchasing an additional 101,180 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in AppLovin by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 4,470 shares of the company's stock worth $1,448,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AppLovin Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:APP traded up $46.77 during trading on Thursday, hitting $437.34. 20,721,653 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,873,250. AppLovin Corporation has a 1-year low of $66.16 and a 1-year high of $525.15. The company has a market capitalization of $147.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 2.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.10. The business's 50 day moving average is $365.28 and its 200-day moving average is $339.24.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. AppLovin had a return on equity of 274.45% and a net margin of 45.72%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 77.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that AppLovin Corporation will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AppLovin news, Director Dawson Alyssa Harvey sold 513 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.30, for a total transaction of $215,613.90. Following the sale, the director owned 3,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,450,455.30. This represents a 12.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Barbara Messing sold 1,500 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.46, for a total value of $573,690.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,510 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,637,194.60. This trade represents a 13.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,212,968 shares of company stock valued at $455,062,980 over the last ninety days. 13.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on APP shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $460.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $525.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AppLovin has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $472.33.

About AppLovin

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.