Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Boosts Holdings in AppLovin Corporation $APP

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in AppLovin Corporation by 564.4%, owning 139,652 shares worth approximately $37 million after purchasing an additional 118,633 shares in Q1.
• AppLovin reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.26 for the last quarter, surpassing expectations but generating $1.26 billion in revenue, which fell short of analyst estimates.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Price T Rowe Associates, also raised their stakes in AppLovin, reflecting increased confidence in the company's future prospects.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) by 564.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 139,652 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 118,633 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings in AppLovin were worth $37,004,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in APP. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 117,664.4% in the first quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,702,694 shares of the company's stock valued at $716,133,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700,399 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 36.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,588,483 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,745,752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,769,400 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 7.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,830,675 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,724,594,000 after purchasing an additional 1,213,536 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 29.0% in the first quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 5,270,355 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,396,486,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185,859 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 86.5% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,386,980 shares of the company's stock valued at $632,478,000 after purchasing an additional 1,107,104 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.85% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AppLovin

In other news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.57, for a total transaction of $13,127,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 3,360,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,470,280,707.28. This trade represents a 0.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Eduardo Vivas sold 125,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.00, for a total transaction of $58,250,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,283,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,394,014,072. This trade represents a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,236,152 shares of company stock valued at $545,240,378. 13.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AppLovin Stock Up 0.7%

APP stock traded up $3.14 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $481.73. 5,272,500 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,016,245. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 2.74. The company has a market cap of $162.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 2.44. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $390.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $347.01. AppLovin Corporation has a 1-year low of $82.51 and a 1-year high of $525.15.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on APP. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $480.00 to $483.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of AppLovin from $460.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of AppLovin in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $620.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $500.00 target price (down previously from $560.00) on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AppLovin presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $478.81.

AppLovin Company 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.