National Pension Service Decreases Stock Position in AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service reduced its stake in AppLovin Corporation by 2.2%, selling 9,839 shares and holding 433,828 shares valued at about $115 million after the sale.
• AppLovin reported a noteworthy 77.1% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, with earnings per share (EPS) of $2.26, surpassing analyst expectations.
• Analyst ratings are largely positive, with a consensus of 18 buy ratings and an average price target of $472.33, indicating strong investor confidence in the stock's future performance.

National Pension Service lessened its holdings in shares of AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 433,828 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,839 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.13% of AppLovin worth $114,951,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in APP. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AppLovin by 5.1% during the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the company's stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in AppLovin by 62.7% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 172,378 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,675,000 after purchasing an additional 66,453 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AppLovin by 3.5% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 3,544 shares of the company's stock valued at $939,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Peak Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in AppLovin in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $969,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in AppLovin by 3.0% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,173 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.85% of the company's stock.

AppLovin Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:APP traded up $5.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $438.68. 3,399,166 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,161,153. The stock has a market cap of $148.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.31, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 2.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01. AppLovin Corporation has a twelve month low of $82.51 and a twelve month high of $525.15. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $370.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $342.69.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.21. AppLovin had a net margin of 45.72% and a return on equity of 252.67%. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 77.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that AppLovin Corporation will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other AppLovin news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 100,000 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.51, for a total value of $36,751,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,760,363 shares in the company, valued at $1,014,461,006.13. The trade was a 3.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.69, for a total value of $92,938,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 381,929 shares of the company's stock, valued at $177,478,587.01. This trade represents a 34.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 925,398 shares of company stock worth $392,582,738. Company insiders own 13.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $500.00 price target (down from $560.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of AppLovin from $480.00 to $483.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of AppLovin from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $525.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $472.33.

AppLovin Profile

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.