Baillie Gifford & Co. Acquires 4,010,520 Shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) by 5,421.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,084,496 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,010,520 shares during the quarter. AppLovin accounts for about 1.0% of Baillie Gifford & Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Baillie Gifford & Co.’s holdings in AppLovin were worth $1,322,682,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $1,382,307,000 after buying an additional 1,029,009 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in AppLovin by 622.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,893,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,030,462,000 after purchasing an additional 6,801,138 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in AppLovin by 8.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,388,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $703,406,000 after purchasing an additional 428,419 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in AppLovin by 12.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,946,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $514,418,000 after purchasing an additional 449,241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC grew its stake in AppLovin by 1.3% in the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 3,539,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $462,077,000 after purchasing an additional 46,854 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on APP shares. Benchmark increased their price objective on AppLovin from $375.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup increased their price objective on AppLovin from $335.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Macquarie increased their price objective on AppLovin from $270.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Daiwa America upgraded AppLovin from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on AppLovin from $360.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $422.18.

AppLovin Stock Performance

Shares of APP opened at $510.13 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $351.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $231.50. AppLovin Co. has a 12 month low of $52.75 and a 12 month high of $525.15. The firm has a market cap of $171.19 billion, a PE ratio of 154.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 2.30.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a return on equity of 122.24% and a net margin of 26.85%. Equities research analysts predict that AppLovin Co. will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AppLovin

In other AppLovin news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 1,676 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.39, for a total transaction of $597,309.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,058,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,090,066,927.65. This trade represents a 0.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Dawson Alyssa Harvey sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.27, for a total value of $203,135.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,684 shares in the company, valued at $2,715,508.68. This represents a 6.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 828,991 shares of company stock valued at $267,640,144 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

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.