Prudential Financial Inc. Trims Position in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its holdings in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) by 32.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 22,765 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,825 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in AppLovin were worth $7,372,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in AppLovin in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Riverview Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 1,640.0% in the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in AppLovin by 172.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 98 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co purchased a new position in AppLovin during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ APP opened at $272.38 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70. The company has a 50-day moving average of $351.86 and a 200 day moving average of $283.07. AppLovin Co. has a 12-month low of $60.67 and a 12-month high of $525.15. The stock has a market cap of $92.60 billion, a PE ratio of 60.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.33.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on APP. Wells Fargo & Company set a $538.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $400.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $440.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on AppLovin from $220.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Arete Research set a $200.00 price target on AppLovin in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $435.47.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $422.21, for a total transaction of $18,999,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.65, for a total value of $4,228,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 88,389 shares in the company, valued at $21,359,201.85. This represents a 16.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 306,900 shares of company stock valued at $106,401,841. 14.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AppLovin Company 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.