Clearbridge Investments LLC Reduces Stake in AppLovin Corporation $APP

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its stake in AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) by 14.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 741,609 shares of the company’s stock after selling 120,419 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.22% of AppLovin worth $499,711,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of AppLovin by 160.0% in the 4th quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of AppLovin by 58.6% in the 3rd quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Eduardo Vivas sold 163,910 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.49, for a total transaction of $74,331,545.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,969,382 shares in the company, valued at $3,160,545,043.18. This trade represents a 2.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 62,804 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.43, for a total value of $30,549,749.72. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 3,255,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,583,462,445.39. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 467,092 shares of company stock valued at $220,268,340. 13.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on AppLovin from $560.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Scotiabank raised their target price on AppLovin from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group cut their target price on AppLovin from $740.00 to $716.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $664.35.

AppLovin Stock Performance

NASDAQ APP opened at $557.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $187.19 billion, a PE ratio of 47.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 2.45. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. AppLovin Corporation has a twelve month low of $320.00 and a twelve month high of $745.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $470.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $521.43.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.77 billion. AppLovin had a return on equity of 219.37% and a net margin of 64.29%.The company’s revenue was up 58.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that AppLovin Corporation will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current year.

AppLovin Profile

AppLovin Corporation is a Palo Alto–based mobile technology company that provides software and services to help app developers grow and monetize their businesses. The company operates a data-driven advertising and marketing platform that connects app publishers and advertisers, delivering tools for user acquisition, monetization, analytics and creative optimization. AppLovin’s technology is integrated into a broad set of mobile applications through software development kits (SDKs) and ad products designed to maximize revenue and engagement for developers.

Key components of AppLovin’s offering include an ad mediation and exchange platform that enables publishers to manage and monetize inventory across multiple demand sources, and a user-acquisition platform that helps advertisers target and scale campaigns.