Hartline Investment Corp Buys New Position in AppLovin Corporation $APP

Key Points

• Hartline Investment Corp. initiated a $7.16 million position in AppLovin during the second quarter, while several other institutional investors also increased their holdings. Institutions now own 41.85% of APP.
• AppLovin reported quarterly EPS in line with estimates at $3.76, with revenue of $1.92 billion up 52.8% year over year but slightly below expectations. Analysts cited slower improvement in gaming-advertising models and competitive risks as concerns.
• Insiders sold roughly $197.3 million of stock over the past 90 days, including significant sales by the CEO and a director. Despite multiple price-target cuts and some neutral ratings, the stock retains a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average target of $565.91.

Hartline Investment Corp bought a new stake in AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 13,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,159,000. AppLovin comprises about 0.6% of Hartline Investment Corp's holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APP. Victory Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of AppLovin by 18.2% in the second quarter. Victory Financial Group LLC now owns 1,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $591,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A. increased its position in AppLovin by 13.7% during the second quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 695 shares of the company's stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in AppLovin by 6.6% during the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 33,066 shares of the company's stock worth $17,037,000 after acquiring an additional 2,042 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in AppLovin by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 926 shares of the company's stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in AppLovin by 430.8% during the 2nd quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 58,937 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,395,000 after purchasing an additional 47,833 shares during the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AppLovin

In other news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 33,042 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.95, for a total transaction of $16,089,801.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,369,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,153,755,469.45. The trade was a 1.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Eduardo Vivas sold 163,910 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $504.06, for a total transaction of $82,620,474.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,785,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,420,090,953.22. The trade was a 2.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 393,000 shares of company stock worth $197,297,363 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 12.81% of the company's stock.

AppLovin Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of APP stock opened at $315.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $105.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 2.54. AppLovin Corporation has a one year low of $303.17 and a one year high of $745.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $447.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $456.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 4.30 and a quick ratio of 4.30.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $3.76 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $3.76. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. AppLovin had a net margin of 64.58% and a return on equity of 193.10%. The business's revenue was up 52.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. Analysts predict that AppLovin Corporation will post 15.57 earnings per share for the current year.

AppLovin News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting AppLovin this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts remain constructive on AppLovin’s valuation and financial profile. Phillip Securities upgraded the stock, while a recent analysis argued that the shares may be mispriced relative to the company’s fundamentals after reaching a 52-week low. AppLovin Upgraded at Phillip Securities AppLovin at 52-Week Low
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan initiated coverage with a Neutral rating, recognizing AppLovin’s strong profitability and balance-sheet profile while questioning whether its rapid mobile-gaming advertising growth can continue. Bank of America also rates the shares Neutral. JPMorgan Initiates AppLovin Coverage Bank of America Neutral Rating
• Negative Sentiment: AppLovin’s latest quarterly results fell slightly short of revenue expectations, and adjusted EBITDA also missed estimates. Management attributed the weakness to slower-than-usual improvements in its core gaming advertising models, intensifying concerns about earnings-growth durability. AppLovin Q2 Earnings Call
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive risks from Unity and Meta, as well as questions about whether Google could challenge AppLovin’s advertising position, are weighing on the investment narrative. BTIG issued a pessimistic forecast, and another analyst downgrade previously contributed to selling pressure. BTIG Forecast for AppLovin AppLovin and Google Competition
• Negative Sentiment: Quant fund Renaissance Technologies exited its AppLovin position, a potential additional overhang for sentiment even though the move reflects portfolio management rather than a fundamental company announcement. Renaissance Changes Holdings

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on APP. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $357.00 price target (down from $575.00) on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and set a $400.00 price objective (down from $430.00) on shares of AppLovin in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of AppLovin from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $665.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of AppLovin from $585.00 to $465.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on AppLovin in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $640.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AppLovin has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $565.91.

About AppLovin

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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