First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Takes Position in AppLovin Corporation $APP

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new position in AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 12,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,979,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of AppLovin by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in AppLovin by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finivi Inc. increased its holdings in AppLovin by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Finivi Inc. now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in AppLovin by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,645,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 160.0% in the fourth quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AppLovin Stock Performance

Shares of APP opened at $428.69 on Wednesday. AppLovin Corporation has a 1 year low of $343.00 and a 1 year high of $745.61. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $503.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $484.09. The company has a market capitalization of $144.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.83, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 2.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 3.24 and a current ratio of 3.24.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.12. AppLovin had a net margin of 64.29% and a return on equity of 219.37%. The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. AppLovin’s revenue for the quarter was up 58.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AppLovin Corporation will post 15.93 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AppLovin news, CFO Matthew Stumpf sold 9,052 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $5,431,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 177,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $106,470,000. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eduardo Vivas sold 163,910 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $504.06, for a total value of $82,620,474.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,785,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,420,090,953.22. This trade represents a 2.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 393,000 shares of company stock valued at $197,297,363. 12.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on APP shares. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded AppLovin from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Argus initiated coverage on AppLovin in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $520.00 price target for the company. UBS Group cut their price target on AppLovin from $740.00 to $716.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on AppLovin in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $640.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AppLovin has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $668.45.

AppLovin Company 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.