Quantitative Investment Management LLC Purchases New Stake in AppLovin Corporation $APP

Key Points

• Quantitative Investment Management LLC has taken a new position in AppLovin Corporation, investing approximately $7.56 million to acquire 28,530 shares during the first quarter.
• Institutional ownership of AppLovin stands at 41.85%, with various institutional investors actively trading shares, including smaller investments by several firms like Fuller & Thaler Asset Management and Atala Financial Inc.
• Analyst ratings for AppLovin vary, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy", while price targets range from $400 to $525 across different analysts.

Quantitative Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 28,530 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,559,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in APP. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in AppLovin in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in AppLovin in the first quarter worth $26,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the first quarter worth $27,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the first quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the first quarter worth $29,000. 41.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AppLovin

In other news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.57, for a total value of $13,127,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 3,360,104 shares in the company, valued at $1,470,280,707.28. This trade represents a 0.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director owned 381,929 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $177,478,587.01. This represents a 34.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,236,152 shares of company stock worth $545,240,378. Corporate insiders own 13.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APP has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on AppLovin from $335.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $480.00 to $491.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $620.00 price target on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on AppLovin from $460.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $478.81.

AppLovin Stock Up 5.0%

Shares of AppLovin stock traded up $23.25 on Thursday, reaching $486.19. 3,319,635 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,020,138. AppLovin Corporation has a 1-year low of $82.51 and a 1-year high of $525.15. The company has a market cap of $164.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 2.43. 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $381.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $346.92.

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

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.