Principal Securities Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,899 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 165 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in AppLovin were worth $1,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APP. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of AppLovin by 64.9% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 7,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,037,000 after acquiring an additional 3,126 shares in the last quarter. Second Half Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in AppLovin during the third quarter worth approximately $224,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,388,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $703,406,000 after buying an additional 428,419 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in AppLovin by 2,200.4% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 523,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,297,000 after acquiring an additional 500,407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management grew its stake in AppLovin by 328.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 106,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,854,000 after buying an additional 81,331 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 99,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.50, for a total value of $32,620,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 621,209 shares in the company, valued at $204,688,365.50. This trade represents a 13.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 17,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.15, for a total transaction of $6,348,138.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 405,676 shares in the company, valued at $143,670,155.40. The trade was a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 828,991 shares of company stock valued at $267,640,144 in the last 90 days. 14.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $560.00 target price (up from $480.00) on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of AppLovin from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price objective on AppLovin from $385.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AppLovin currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $422.18.

AppLovin Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APP opened at $496.07 on Wednesday. AppLovin Co. has a 12 month low of $54.50 and a 12 month high of $525.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $358.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $237.58. The company has a market cap of $166.48 billion, a PE ratio of 150.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 2.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.41.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a return on equity of 122.24% and a net margin of 26.85%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AppLovin Co. will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current year.

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.