Steph & Co. Sells 2,002 Shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Steph & Co. cut its holdings in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) by 66.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,020 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,002 shares during the quarter. Steph & Co.’s holdings in AppLovin were worth $330,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of AppLovin in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in AppLovin in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 17,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.15, for a total value of $6,348,138.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 405,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,670,155.40. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Katie Kihorany Jansen sold 59,876 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.14, for a total transaction of $17,132,918.64. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 1,017,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $291,115,402.32. This represents a 5.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 888,867 shares of company stock worth $284,773,062 in the last quarter. 14.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on AppLovin in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Benchmark started coverage on shares of AppLovin in a report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $375.00 price target for the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 price target (up from $170.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on AppLovin from $252.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $338.06.

AppLovin Price Performance

NASDAQ:APP opened at $335.03 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $112.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.52, a PEG ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 2.29. The company has a 50-day moving average of $324.66 and a 200-day moving average of $184.47. AppLovin Co. has a 52 week low of $39.43 and a 52 week high of $417.64. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.33. AppLovin had a return on equity of 122.24% and a net margin of 26.85%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. AppLovin’s revenue was up 38.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AppLovin Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AppLovin 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.