Paragon Capital Management Inc. Makes New $319,000 Investment in AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP)

Paragon Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,204 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $319,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 75.5% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 13,851,122 shares of the company's stock worth $4,485,409,000 after acquiring an additional 5,957,885 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in AppLovin in the fourth quarter worth about $1,781,922,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AppLovin in the fourth quarter worth about $828,138,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of AppLovin by 457.2% during the 4th 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 period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of AppLovin by 193.6% during the 4th 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. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on APP shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of AppLovin from $460.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on AppLovin from $335.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on AppLovin from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of AppLovin from $355.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, HSBC set a $436.00 target price on shares of AppLovin and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $438.85.

AppLovin Stock Performance

NASDAQ APP opened at $347.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.10, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68. AppLovin Corporation has a 1-year low of $60.67 and a 1-year high of $525.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $341.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $333.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.57 billion, a PE ratio of 62.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 2.53.

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

Insider Transactions at AppLovin

In related news, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 400,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.61, for a total value of $149,844,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 221,209 shares in the company, valued at $82,867,103.49. This trade represents a 64.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Barbara Messing sold 1,500 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.46, for a total transaction of $573,690.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,510 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,637,194.60. The trade was a 13.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,212,968 shares of company stock worth $455,062,980 in the last three months. Insiders own 13.66% of the company's stock.

AppLovin Company 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.

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