Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 3,248 Shares of AppLovin Corporation $APP

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group increased its stake in AppLovin by 47.4% in Q4, buying 3,248 shares to hold 10,107 shares worth about $6.81 million.
• AppLovin beat Q4 expectations with EPS of $3.24 vs. $2.89 and revenue of $1.66 billion (up 66% year‑over‑year), reporting very high margins (net margin 57.4%) and return on equity (245.6%).
• Significant insider selling occurred last quarter — including the CEO's sale of 40,704 shares — with insiders offloading a total of 365,244 shares ($169.6M), while analysts still show a consensus "Moderate Buy" average target of $661.95.

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) by 47.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,107 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,248 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in AppLovin were worth $6,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AppLovin in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of AppLovin in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of AppLovin by 760.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 43 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of AppLovin by 58.6% in the third quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 46 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of AppLovin by 100.0% in the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 48 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.85% of the company's stock.

AppLovin Stock Performance

Shares of AppLovin stock opened at $477.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 3.32 and a quick ratio of 3.32. The firm has a market cap of $160.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 2.50. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $429.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $546.59. AppLovin Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $222.02 and a fifty-two week high of $745.61.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. AppLovin had a net margin of 57.42% and a return on equity of 245.64%. AppLovin's revenue for the quarter was up 66.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.73 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that AppLovin Corporation will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AppLovin

In related news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 40,704 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.85, for a total value of $18,717,734.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,430,414 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,117,625,877.90. This trade represents a 1.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 5,231 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.47, for a total transaction of $2,497,645.57. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 30,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,638,275.26. This represents a 14.58% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 365,244 shares of company stock valued at $169,584,607 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of AppLovin from $860.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of AppLovin from $710.00 to $585.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. BTIG Research cut their target price on shares of AppLovin from $771.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of AppLovin from $740.00 to $660.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AppLovin presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $661.95.

AppLovin Company 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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