WPG Advisers LLC Acquires Shares of 2,724 AppLovin Corporation $APP

Key Points

• WPG Advisers LLC has acquired a new position in AppLovin Corporation, purchasing 2,724 shares valued at approximately $722,000, making it the firm's 23rd largest holding.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds currently own 41.85% of AppLovin's stock, with various firms making new acquisitions in the first quarter.
• Company insiders have sold significant portions of their holdings, with the CTO selling 30,000 shares and the CEO 90,000 shares, reflecting recent adjustments in their ownership stakes.

WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,724 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $722,000. AppLovin comprises about 0.7% of WPG Advisers LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,830,675 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,724,594,000 after purchasing an additional 1,213,536 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 36.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,769,400 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 29.0% during the 1st quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 5,270,355 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,396,486,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185,859 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 32.9% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,011,306 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,062,876,000 after purchasing an additional 992,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynasty Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 117,664.4% during the 1st quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,702,694 shares of the company's stock valued at $716,133,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700,399 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.85% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at AppLovin

In other news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 26,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $440.23, for a total transaction of $11,534,026.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,590,054 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,140,219,472.42. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 17,564 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.48, for a total transaction of $7,683,898.72. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 53,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,356,619.72. The trade was a 24.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,236,152 shares of company stock valued at $545,240,378 in the last ninety days. 13.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AppLovin Stock Performance

Shares of APP traded down $5.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $478.59. 5,135,135 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,516,874. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 2.43. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $387.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $348.09. AppLovin Corporation has a 12-month low of $82.51 and a 12-month high of $525.15. The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. AppLovin had a net margin of 45.72% and a return on equity of 252.67%. The company had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 77.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that AppLovin Corporation will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $460.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Zacks Research upgraded AppLovin to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on AppLovin from $335.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $620.00 price target on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $478.81.

About AppLovin

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.