Russell Investments Group Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. significantly reduced its holdings in AppLovin Corporation by 43.9%, selling 178,973 shares, leaving it with 228,417 shares valued at approximately $60.6 million.
• AppLovin reported $2.26 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, but its revenue of $1.26 billion fell short of the forecasted $1.37 billion.
• A majority of analysts have rated AppLovin as a Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $472.33 following various adjustments by research firms.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) by 43.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 228,417 shares of the company's stock after selling 178,973 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.07% of AppLovin worth $60,555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Forum Financial Management LP grew its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,776 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,223,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc grew its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 4,108 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,088,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Argentarii LLC grew its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 1.5% during the first quarter. Argentarii LLC now owns 2,638 shares of the company's stock valued at $699,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in AppLovin by 11.3% during the first quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 394 shares of the company's stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in AppLovin by 13.4% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 365 shares of the company's stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AppLovin Price Performance

AppLovin stock traded up $5.34 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $438.68. 3,399,166 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,114,927. The company's fifty day moving average is $370.82 and its 200-day moving average is $343.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 2.74. The firm has a market cap of $148.38 billion, a PE ratio of 62.31, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 2.43. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. AppLovin had a net margin of 45.72% and a return on equity of 252.67%. AppLovin's revenue was up 77.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AppLovin Corporation will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AppLovin

In other AppLovin news, Director Barbara Messing sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $382.46, for a total value of $573,690.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,510 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,637,194.60. The trade was a 13.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Dawson Alyssa Harvey sold 513 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.30, for a total transaction of $215,613.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,450,455.30. This represents a 12.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 925,398 shares of company stock worth $392,582,738 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on APP. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $620.00 price target on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $525.00 price target on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of AppLovin from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of AppLovin from $480.00 to $483.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AppLovin has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $472.33.

AppLovin Company 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.