Prudential PLC Raises Stock Holdings in AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC increased its stake in AppLovin Corporation by 209.7% during Q1, acquiring an additional 16,209 shares, bringing their total holdings to 23,940 shares valued at approximately $6.34 million.
• Insider activity includes significant sales, with CEO Arash Adam Foroughi selling 100,000 shares worth $36.75 million and CTO Vasily Shikin selling 34,766 shares, indicating a decrease in their ownership positions.
• AppLovin's stock performance has been mixed, with a market cap of $146.64 billion, a recent trading price of $433.34, and a year-to-date range between $82.51 and $525.15, reflecting high volatility in the market.

Prudential PLC lifted its position in AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) by 209.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,940 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,209 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in AppLovin were worth $6,343,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in AppLovin by 62.7% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 172,378 shares of the company's stock worth $45,675,000 after acquiring an additional 66,453 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AppLovin by 3.5% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 3,544 shares of the company's stock worth $939,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Peak Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth approximately $969,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in AppLovin by 3.0% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,173 shares of the company's stock worth $1,106,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on APP. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $525.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on AppLovin from $460.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. BTIG Research upped their target price on AppLovin from $480.00 to $483.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on AppLovin from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AppLovin currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $472.33.

AppLovin Stock Up 1.2%

NASDAQ APP traded up $5.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $438.68. 3,399,166 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,114,927. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 2.74. The company has a market cap of $148.38 billion, a PE ratio of 62.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 2.43. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $370.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $343.23. AppLovin Corporation has a 52 week low of $82.51 and a 52 week high of $525.15.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Barbara Messing sold 1,500 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 9,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,637,194.60. This represents a 13.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 32,991 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.93, for a total value of $15,107,568.63. Following the sale, the director owned 381,929 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $174,896,746.97. This represents a 7.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 925,398 shares of company stock worth $392,582,738. Company insiders own 13.66% of the company's stock.

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.