Westpac Banking Corp Lowers Stock Holdings in AppLovin Corporation $APP

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp reduced its AppLovin stake by 56.9% in the first quarter, selling 5,318 shares and leaving it with 4,035 shares worth about $1.6 million.
• Institutional interest remains significant, with hedge funds and other investors owning 41.85% of AppLovin’s shares, while analysts remain broadly positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $668.45.
• AppLovin’s latest quarterly results topped expectations, as the company posted $3.56 EPS on $1.84 billion in revenue, and insiders have been active sellers recently, including the CEO, CFO, and a director.

Westpac Banking Corp cut its position in AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) by 56.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,035 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,318 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in AppLovin were worth $1,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in AppLovin in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of AppLovin by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, First Pacific Financial purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.85% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of AppLovin from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of AppLovin from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $775.00 price objective on AppLovin in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $668.45.

AppLovin Stock Performance

Shares of AppLovin stock opened at $412.48 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $502.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $482.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 3.24 and a current ratio of 3.24. AppLovin Corporation has a one year low of $349.21 and a one year high of $745.61. The company has a market cap of $138.57 billion, a PE ratio of 35.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 2.49.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.12. AppLovin had a net margin of 64.29% and a return on equity of 219.37%. The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 58.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AppLovin Corporation will post 15.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. sold 3,076 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $521.29, for a total transaction of $1,603,488.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 120,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $62,786,252.76. The trade was a 2.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew Stumpf sold 9,052 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $5,431,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 177,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $106,470,000. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 393,000 shares of company stock worth $197,297,363. Corporate insiders own 12.81% of the company's stock.

AppLovin Company Profile

AppLovin Corporation is a Palo Alto–based mobile technology company that provides software and services to help app developers grow and monetize their businesses. The company operates a data-driven advertising and marketing platform that connects app publishers and advertisers, delivering tools for user acquisition, monetization, analytics and creative optimization. AppLovin's technology is integrated into a broad set of mobile applications through software development kits (SDKs) and ad products designed to maximize revenue and engagement for developers.

Key components of AppLovin's offering include an ad mediation and exchange platform that enables publishers to manage and monetize inventory across multiple demand sources, and a user-acquisition platform that helps advertisers target and scale campaigns.

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