National Pension Service Sells 129,141 Shares of AppLovin Corporation $APP

Key Points

• National Pension Service reduced its AppLovin stake by 15.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 129,141 shares and leaving it with 703,285 shares valued at about $473.9 million.
• AppLovin reported strong Q1/quarterly results, beating expectations with EPS of $3.56 versus $3.44 expected and revenue of $1.84 billion versus $1.77 billion expected, while revenue jumped 58.9% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly bullish, with firms like Morgan Stanley, Needham, and Wells Fargo maintaining or raising targets, and the stock carrying a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $664.35.

National Pension Service cut its position in AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) by 15.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 703,285 shares of the company's stock after selling 129,141 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.21% of AppLovin worth $473,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its stake in shares of AppLovin by 73.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 76,736 shares of the company's stock worth $54,664,000 after acquiring an additional 32,510 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of AppLovin by 131.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 6,049 shares of the company's stock worth $4,347,000 after acquiring an additional 3,438 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. bought a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 3rd quarter worth $4,958,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of AppLovin by 946.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 326,999 shares of the company's stock worth $234,962,000 after acquiring an additional 295,753 shares during the period. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of AppLovin by 138.3% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 10,094 shares of the company's stock worth $7,253,000 after acquiring an additional 5,859 shares during the period. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on APP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on AppLovin from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $700.00 price target on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on AppLovin from $560.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on AppLovin from $860.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered AppLovin from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. One equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $664.35.

AppLovin Stock Up 5.6%

Shares of NASDAQ APP opened at $599.89 on Friday. AppLovin Corporation has a 52 week low of $320.00 and a 52 week high of $745.61. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $453.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $521.05. The company has a quick ratio of 3.24, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company has a market cap of $201.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 2.37.

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

Key Headlines Impacting AppLovin

Here are the key news stories impacting AppLovin this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reiterated an Overweight rating and $720 price target, helping push shares sharply higher and reinforcing the view that Wall Street still sees more upside in APP. AppLovin Stock Is Having a Bad Year. Why It’s Today’s Top Performer in the S&P 500.
• Positive Sentiment: Needham & Company reaffirmed a Buy rating and raised its price target to $700, while Deutsche Bank also lifted its target to $660, signaling continued analyst confidence in AppLovin’s growth story. Benzinga report on Needham rating
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s recent earnings results were strong, with revenue up 58.9% year over year and both EPS and revenue beating expectations, supporting the bullish case for the stock. AppLovin stock overview
• Neutral Sentiment: A Zacks comparison piece said Coherent may be better positioned than APP due to valuation concerns, which highlights that AppLovin’s premium pricing remains a debate among investors. Coherent vs. AppLovin: Which AI Growth Stock is Better Positioned?
• Negative Sentiment: Recent SEC filings show CTO Vasily Shikin sold shares, which can create some caution around insider sentiment even though the sales were small relative to his remaining stake. SEC filing for insider sale

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AppLovin news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.04, for a total value of $23,302,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,480,414 shares in the company, valued at $1,155,972,140.56. This trade represents a 1.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eduardo Vivas sold 163,910 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.49, for a total value of $74,331,545.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,969,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,160,545,043.18. This represents a 2.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 454,964 shares of company stock worth $213,046,785 in the last quarter. 13.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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