Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires New Holdings in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,652,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $535,070,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in AppLovin in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in AppLovin in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in AppLovin in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Riverview Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 1,640.0% during the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management boosted 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 last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AppLovin Trading Down 2.8 %

NASDAQ APP opened at $318.00 on Thursday. AppLovin Co. has a one year low of $59.30 and a one year high of $525.15. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $366.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $259.26. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $106.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.04, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.30.

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 net margin of 33.54% and a return on equity of 188.55%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at AppLovin

In other AppLovin news, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.65, for a total value of $64,930,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 621,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $201,675,501.85. This trade represents a 24.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 15,971 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $116,526,219.35. This trade represents a 4.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 406,947 shares of company stock worth $140,740,416. Company insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on APP shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of AppLovin from $460.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of AppLovin from $375.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of AppLovin from $375.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating 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 note 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $452.29.

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.