Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 10,650 Shares of AppLovin Corporation $APP

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its stake in AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) by 3.3%, buying 10,650 shares to hold 337,649 shares (about 0.10% of the company) valued at $227,515,000 at quarter-end.
• AppLovin beat quarterly expectations with $3.24 EPS vs. $2.89 expected and $1.66B revenue vs. $1.61B expected, reporting a 57.4% net margin, 245.6% ROE and 66% year‑over‑year revenue growth.
• Insiders have been selling recently (CEO sold 50,000 shares, CTO 62,804; insiders sold 365,244 shares worth $169.6M in the last 90 days), while analysts hold a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target of $672.05.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 337,649 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,650 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of AppLovin worth $227,515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of APP. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in AppLovin in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in AppLovin during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of AppLovin by 760.0% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 43 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 58.6% in the 3rd quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 46 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AppLovin Price Performance

Shares of AppLovin stock opened at $478.11 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $438.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $534.64. AppLovin Corporation has a 12-month low of $290.96 and a 12-month high of $745.61. The firm has a market cap of $161.26 billion, a PE ratio of 49.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 2.37. The company has a quick ratio of 3.32, a current ratio of 3.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. AppLovin had a net margin of 57.42% and a return on equity of 245.64%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 66.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.73 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that AppLovin Corporation will post 15.72 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AppLovin

In other AppLovin news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,480,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,155,972,140.56. This trade represents a 1.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 62,804 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief technology officer owned 3,255,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,583,462,445.39. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 365,244 shares of company stock valued at $169,584,607 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 13.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on APP. Morgan Stanley set a $720.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of AppLovin from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Evercore reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Friday, January 30th. BTIG Research lowered their target price on AppLovin from $771.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $672.05.

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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