Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Cuts Stake in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd reduced its position in shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,437 shares of the company’s stock after selling 71 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in AppLovin were worth $4,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on APP shares. Macquarie raised their target price on shares of AppLovin from $270.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $560.00 target price (up previously from $480.00) on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Daiwa America raised shares of AppLovin from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $452.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Herald Y. Chen sold 400 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $366.16, for a total value of $146,464.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 207,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,032,757.84. The trade was a 0.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 44,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.89, for a total value of $18,243,516.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,869,492 shares in the company, valued at $1,179,045,567.88. This represents a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 224,872 shares of company stock worth $82,158,554 in the last three months. 14.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AppLovin Stock Down 3.2 %

APP opened at $320.49 on Friday. AppLovin Co. has a fifty-two week low of $57.40 and a fifty-two week high of $525.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 2.41. The stock has a market cap of $107.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $368.10 and its 200 day moving average is $251.23.

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

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.