Employees Retirement System of Texas Sells 16,852 Shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Employees Retirement System of Texas reduced its position in shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) by 19.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 68,760 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,852 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas' holdings in AppLovin were worth $22,267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of APP. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AppLovin by 38.2% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of AppLovin by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company's stock worth $590,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 period. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,776 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,223,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC raised its holdings in AppLovin by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 5,236 shares of the company's stock worth $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.85% of the company's stock.

AppLovin Trading Down 1.2%

APP traded down $4.63 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $385.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,681,873 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,055,602. AppLovin Co. has a fifty-two week low of $60.67 and a fifty-two week high of $525.15. The stock has a market cap of $130.49 billion, a PE ratio of 84.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.39. The business's 50-day moving average is $296.79 and its 200-day moving average is $327.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.41.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.22. AppLovin had a return on equity of 188.55% and a net margin of 33.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 40.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on AppLovin from $350.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of AppLovin in a report on Friday, March 28th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price target (down previously from $560.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on AppLovin from $270.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AppLovin currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $433.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at AppLovin

In related news, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 171,420 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $373.77, for a total value of $64,071,653.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 221,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,681,287.93. This trade represents a 43.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.65, for a total transaction of $64,930,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 621,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $201,675,501.85. This trade represents a 24.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,315,754 shares of company stock worth $476,095,970 in the last quarter. 14.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.