DnB Asset Management AS Has $11.68 Million Stake in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

DnB Asset Management AS lifted its position in shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,052 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,681 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in AppLovin were worth $11,675,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of APP. Level Four Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in AppLovin by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,412,000 after purchasing an additional 825 shares during the last quarter. denkapparat Operations GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the fourth quarter valued at about $314,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in AppLovin by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 79,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,780,000 after acquiring an additional 3,172 shares in the last quarter. X Square Capital LLC grew its stake in AppLovin by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. X Square Capital LLC now owns 3,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,295,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 4th quarter worth approximately $828,138,000. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AppLovin Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:APP opened at $272.38 on Friday. AppLovin Co. has a 1 year low of $60.67 and a 1 year high of $525.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.41. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $351.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $283.07.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 188.55% and a net margin of 33.54%. As a group, research analysts predict that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 17,500 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.65, for a total transaction of $4,228,875.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 88,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,359,201.85. The trade was a 16.53 % 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 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.65, for a total transaction of $64,930,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 621,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,675,501.85. This represents a 24.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 306,900 shares of company stock valued at $106,401,841. 14.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on APP. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on AppLovin from $400.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on AppLovin from $440.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup increased their target price on AppLovin from $460.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, fifteen 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $435.47.

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.