Patton Fund Management Inc. Boosts Stake in AppLovin Corporation $APP

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management raised its stake in AppLovin by 2,806.9% in Q4, buying 11,452 shares to own 11,860 shares worth about $7.99 million, roughly 1.1% of the fund's portfolio (its 23rd largest holding).
• Analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" on AppLovin with an average price target of $669.05 (18 Buys, 5 Holds), with individual targets ranging into the $700s.
• Company insiders have been selling recently—including the CEO and CTO—with total insider sales of 365,244 shares (~$169.6 million) over the last 90 days, though insiders still own 13.66% of the stock.

Patton Fund Management Inc. lifted its holdings in AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) by 2,806.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,860 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,452 shares during the quarter. AppLovin accounts for about 1.1% of Patton Fund Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Patton Fund Management Inc.'s holdings in AppLovin were worth $7,992,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin in the third quarter worth $29,000. 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin in the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.85% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Scotiabank upped their price objective on AppLovin from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $650.00 price objective (down from $800.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on AppLovin from $820.00 to $710.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $669.05.

AppLovin Stock Performance

NASDAQ:APP opened at $417.45 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $425.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $552.27. AppLovin Corporation has a 52-week low of $222.02 and a 52-week high of $745.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 3.32 and a current ratio of 3.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.80 billion, a PE ratio of 42.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 2.50.

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

Insider Transactions at AppLovin

In other news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 50,000 shares of the company'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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,155,972,140.56. This represents a 1.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 62,804 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $486.43, for a total value of $30,549,749.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 3,255,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,583,462,445.39. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 365,244 shares of company stock valued at $169,584,607 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.66% of the company's stock.

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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