Stephens Inc. AR Increases Stake in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Stephens Inc. AR boosted its stake in shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) by 9.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,224 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in AppLovin were worth $2,339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of APP. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in AppLovin by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 322 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its position in AppLovin by 2.2% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 2,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in AppLovin by 172.2% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 98 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Precision Wealth Strategies LLC grew its position in AppLovin by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 4,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,545,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AppLovin news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 15,971 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.07, for a total transaction of $5,000,040.97. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 372,205 shares in the company, valued at $116,526,219.35. This trade represents a 4.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Craig Scott Billings sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.94, for a total transaction of $5,740,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $952,673.78. This represents a 85.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 over the last quarter. 14.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on AppLovin from $250.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of AppLovin from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Benchmark started coverage on AppLovin in a report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $375.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on AppLovin from $335.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $366.29.

AppLovin Stock Down 2.4 %

APP stock opened at $375.25 on Wednesday. AppLovin Co. has a one year low of $45.12 and a one year high of $417.64. The firm has a market cap of $125.93 billion, a PE ratio of 113.71, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 2.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $347.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $223.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 2.41.

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.