Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in AppLovin Corporation $APP

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 335,768 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,881 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.10% of AppLovin worth $133,636,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in APP. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 41.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AppLovin Price Performance

NASDAQ APP opened at $452.73 on Thursday. AppLovin Corporation has a 12 month low of $343.00 and a 12 month high of $745.61. The stock has a market cap of $152.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.89, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.49. The company’s 50 day moving average is $508.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $491.61. 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 (NASDAQ:APP) last posted 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 analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. AppLovin had a net margin of 64.29% and a return on equity of 219.37%. The company’s revenue was up 58.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AppLovin Corporation will post 15.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 62,804 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $484.42, for a total value of $30,423,513.68. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 3,189,739 shares in the company, valued at $1,545,173,366.38. The trade was a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew Stumpf sold 9,052 shares of the 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 owned 177,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $106,470,000. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 393,000 shares of company stock worth $197,297,363 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AppLovin in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $640.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They set a “strong-buy” rating and a $640.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AppLovin currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $668.45.

About AppLovin

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.