Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Acquires New Holdings in AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $626,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in AppLovin by 75.5% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 13,851,122 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,485,409,000 after purchasing an additional 5,957,885 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AppLovin during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $828,138,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in AppLovin by 457.2% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,893,148 shares of the company's stock valued at $936,888,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373,885 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in AppLovin by 193.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,725,101 shares of the company's stock valued at $882,469,000 after purchasing an additional 1,797,027 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors acquired a new position in AppLovin during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $421,470,000. Institutional investors own 41.85% of the company's stock.

AppLovin Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:APP opened at $335.10 on Friday. AppLovin Corporation has a 52 week low of $60.67 and a 52 week high of $525.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.10, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. The company's fifty day moving average is $358.23 and its 200-day moving average is $334.33. The company has a market capitalization of $113.39 billion, a PE ratio of 60.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 2.42.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. AppLovin had a net margin of 37.38% and a return on equity of 224.65%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 40.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that AppLovin Corporation will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AppLovin

In related news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 34,766 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.64, for a total transaction of $12,294,648.24. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 70,889 shares in the company, valued at $25,069,185.96. This represents a 32.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.51, for a total transaction of $36,751,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,760,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,014,461,006.13. The trade was a 3.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,212,968 shares of company stock worth $455,062,980 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.66% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on APP shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on AppLovin from $386.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on AppLovin from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $335.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. 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 note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $355.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $438.43.

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.

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