Baron Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Baron Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $448,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC grew its position in AppLovin by 622.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,893,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,030,462,000 after acquiring an additional 6,801,138 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 10.5% during the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 10,820,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,382,307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,009 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of AppLovin by 31.3% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,350,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,897,000 after buying an additional 560,560 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 2,200.4% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 523,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,297,000 after buying an additional 500,407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in AppLovin by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,946,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $514,418,000 after buying an additional 449,241 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Price Performance

AppLovin stock opened at $366.34 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $122.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 111.01, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 2.29. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70. AppLovin Co. has a 12 month low of $40.71 and a 12 month high of $417.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $339.92 and its 200-day moving average is $204.14.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. AppLovin had a net margin of 26.85% and a return on equity of 122.24%. The business’s revenue was up 38.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that AppLovin Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AppLovin

In related news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 15,971 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.07, for a total transaction of $5,000,040.97. Following the sale, the insider now owns 372,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $116,526,219.35. This trade represents a 4.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 99,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.50, for a total value of $32,620,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 621,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,688,365.50. This trade represents a 13.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 888,867 shares of company stock valued at $284,773,062. Corporate insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on APP shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 target price (up previously from $170.00) on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Macquarie lifted their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $270.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of AppLovin in a report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $375.00 price target for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded AppLovin from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $280.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on AppLovin from $252.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AppLovin has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $366.29.

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.