Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in AppLovin Corporation $APP

Key Points

• Franklin Resources cut its AppLovin stake by 24.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 608,002 shares and leaving it with 1,834,448 shares worth about $1.24 billion.
• Several analysts remain constructive on AppLovin, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $664.35, despite some recent target cuts and one downgrade to Hold.
• AppLovin reported strong recent results, including EPS of $3.56 and revenue of $1.84 billion, both above estimates, while insiders have also been selling shares in recent months.

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its position in shares of AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) by 24.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,834,448 shares of the company's stock after selling 608,002 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.54% of AppLovin worth $1,236,097,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in APP. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.85% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $740.00 to $716.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of AppLovin from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $650.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $664.35.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. sold 3,076 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $582.04, for a total transaction of $1,790,355.04. Following the sale, the director directly owned 123,520 shares in the company, valued at $71,893,580.80. This trade represents a 2.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 2,889 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.90, for a total transaction of $1,412,432.10. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 17,945 shares in the company, valued at $8,773,310.50. The trade was a 13.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 467,092 shares of company stock worth $220,268,340. 13.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AppLovin Price Performance

APP opened at $557.20 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. AppLovin Corporation has a 1-year low of $320.00 and a 1-year high of $745.61. The company has a market capitalization of $187.19 billion, a PE ratio of 47.87, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 2.45. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $470.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $521.30.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.12. AppLovin had a net margin of 64.29% and a return on equity of 219.37%. The business had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 58.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AppLovin Corporation will post 15.86 EPS for the current year.

AppLovin 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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