Mount Lucas Management LP Cuts Position in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Mount Lucas Management LP reduced its holdings in shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) by 17.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,544 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,173 shares during the quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP’s holdings in AppLovin were worth $1,795,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in APP. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in AppLovin during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Riverview Trust Co grew its stake in shares of AppLovin by 1,640.0% in the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on APP. Wells Fargo & Company set a $538.00 price target on AppLovin and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of AppLovin from $250.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of AppLovin from $220.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on AppLovin from $440.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AppLovin presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $452.29.

AppLovin Stock Performance

AppLovin stock opened at $270.48 on Monday. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $59.30 and a 12 month high of $525.15. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $363.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $262.97. The company has a market cap of $90.77 billion, a PE ratio of 59.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.33.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a net margin of 33.54% and a return on equity of 188.55%. Research analysts expect that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $422.21, for a total value of $18,999,450.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,914,492 shares in the company, valued at $1,230,527,667.32. This trade represents a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 99,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.50, for a total transaction of $32,620,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 621,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,688,365.50. This trade represents a 13.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 406,047 shares of company stock valued at $140,390,817. 14.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.