Sheets Smith Investment Management Sells 4,478 Shares of AppLovin Corporation $APP

Key Points

• Sheets Smith Investment Management reduced its stake in AppLovin Corporation by 44.5%, selling 4,478 shares during the first quarter, leaving them with 5,596 shares valued at approximately $1.48 million.
• A number of institutional investors increased their holdings in AppLovin, with Dynasty Wealth Management significantly boosting its position by 117,664.4%, now owning over 2.7 million shares valued at $716 million.
• AppLovin recently reported earnings of $2.26 per share, beating estimates but falling short on revenue, leading analysts to adjust their target prices and ratings, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Sheets Smith Investment Management cut its position in shares of AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) by 44.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,596 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,478 shares during the quarter. AppLovin accounts for about 1.5% of Sheets Smith Investment Management's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Sheets Smith Investment Management's holdings in AppLovin were worth $1,483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of APP. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in AppLovin by 117,664.4% in the 1st quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,702,694 shares of the company's stock valued at $716,133,000 after buying an additional 2,700,399 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in AppLovin by 36.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,588,483 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,745,752,000 after buying an additional 1,769,400 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of AppLovin by 7.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,830,675 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,724,594,000 after acquiring an additional 1,213,536 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its position in shares of AppLovin by 29.0% in the first quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 5,270,355 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,396,486,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of AppLovin by 86.5% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,386,980 shares of the company's stock valued at $632,478,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107,104 shares during the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded AppLovin from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on AppLovin from $480.00 to $491.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on AppLovin from $560.00 to $615.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on AppLovin from $460.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AppLovin currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $482.86.

AppLovin Price Performance

Shares of APP opened at $571.31 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $193.25 billion, a PE ratio of 81.15, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 2.44. 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's 50-day moving average is $419.67 and its 200-day moving average is $352.06. AppLovin Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $97.35 and a fifty-two week high of $576.44.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.21. The firm 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%. The business's revenue was up 77.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that AppLovin Corporation will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AppLovin

In other AppLovin news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $502.23, for a total value of $17,578,050.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 269,955 shares of the company's stock, valued at $135,579,499.65. This represents a 11.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.57, for a total transaction of $13,127,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 3,360,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,470,280,707.28. This represents a 0.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,156,788 shares of company stock worth $514,863,333. 13.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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