Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 5,090 Shares of AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP)

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management increased its stake in AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) by 8.7% during the first quarter, bringing its total investment to $16.89 million.
• A significant number of institutional investors have also recently acquired positions in AppLovin, with approximately 41.85% of the stock now held by these entities.
• Analysts are optimistic about AppLovin's stock, with several raising their price targets, leading to an average target of $472.33 and a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) by 8.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 63,512 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,090 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in AppLovin were worth $16,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of APP. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. 41.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.51, for a total value of $36,751,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,760,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,014,461,006.13. This represents a 3.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 34,766 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.64, for a total transaction of $12,294,648.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 70,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,069,185.96. This trade represents a 32.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 400,398 shares of company stock valued at $151,712,641 in the last 90 days. 13.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AppLovin Price Performance

Shares of APP stock traded down $20.60 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $446.40. The company had a trading volume of 6,326,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,963,500. The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01. The stock's 50-day moving average is $370.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $342.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 2.43. AppLovin Corporation has a 52 week low of $80.14 and a 52 week high of $525.15.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on APP. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $480.00 to $483.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AppLovin from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $460.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. HSBC set a $436.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $472.33.

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.