IFM Investors Pty Ltd Acquires New Stake in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd bought a new position in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 31,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,190,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AppLovin during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Castleview Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AppLovin in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in AppLovin during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AppLovin

In other news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 50,000 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.01, for a total transaction of $3,750,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 471,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,371,715.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other AppLovin news, CFO Matthew Stumpf sold 2,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.30, for a total transaction of $175,657.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 362,264 shares in the company, valued at $22,931,311.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.01, for a total value of $3,750,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 471,560 shares in the company, valued at $35,371,715.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 61,215 shares of company stock worth $4,416,815. Company insiders own 12.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on APP. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on AppLovin from $59.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on AppLovin from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of AppLovin from $67.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. TheStreet raised shares of AppLovin from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of AppLovin from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.31.

AppLovin Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:APP traded up $4.61 during trading on Friday, reaching $73.82. The stock had a trading volume of 5,381,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,326,516. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. AppLovin Co. has a 52 week low of $15.70 and a 52 week high of $79.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.90.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.14. AppLovin had a return on equity of 24.69% and a net margin of 10.84%. The firm had revenue of $953.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.66 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.21) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 35.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that AppLovin Co. will post 2.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AppLovin Company Profile

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.