Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,633 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,327 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in AppLovin were worth $27,082,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in AppLovin during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Riverview Trust Co grew its stake in AppLovin by 1,640.0% in the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on AppLovin from $250.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $538.00 price target on AppLovin and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $325.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $270.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $452.29.

Insider Transactions at AppLovin

In other AppLovin news, 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 value of $64,930,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 621,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $201,675,501.85. This represents a 24.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,914,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,230,527,667.32. This trade represents a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 406,047 shares of company stock valued at $140,390,817. Corporate insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Trading Up 4.2 %

NASDAQ:APP opened at $270.48 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $363.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $262.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.77 billion, a PE ratio of 59.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.33. AppLovin Co. has a 12 month low of $59.30 and a 12 month high of $525.15. 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 (NASDAQ:APP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts predict that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.