Norges Bank Buys Shares of 2,557,323 AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,557,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $828,138,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of APP. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 89.7% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its position in AppLovin by 2.2% during the 3rd 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. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 36.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 18,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,366,000 after acquiring an additional 4,822 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of AppLovin by 9,300.0% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the period. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in AppLovin during the 3rd quarter worth $672,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Stock Performance

NASDAQ:APP opened at $261.70 on Friday. AppLovin Co. has a fifty-two week low of $60.67 and a fifty-two week high of $525.15. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $353.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $280.42. The company has a market capitalization of $88.97 billion, a PE ratio of 57.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.33. 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 (NASDAQ:APP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a net margin of 33.54% and a return on equity of 188.55%. Research analysts anticipate that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on APP shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on AppLovin from $400.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $375.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Arete Research set a $200.00 price target on shares of AppLovin in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Macquarie boosted their target price on AppLovin from $270.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of AppLovin from $220.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $438.28.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 621,209 shares in the company, valued at $201,675,501.85. This trade represents a 24.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 17,500 shares of the 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 sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 88,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,359,201.85. This trade represents a 16.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 306,900 shares of company stock valued at $106,401,841 over the last ninety days. 14.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.