Fernwood Investment Management LLC Makes New $1.40 Million Investment in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Fernwood Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 4,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,398,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 3rd quarter worth about $364,000. IHT Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the third quarter worth about $316,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 146.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 6,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $837,000 after purchasing an additional 3,812 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of AppLovin by 5.6% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 117,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,340,000 after acquiring an additional 6,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in AppLovin by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,751,000 after acquiring an additional 2,071 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $422.21, for a total value of $18,999,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,914,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,230,527,667.32. The trade was a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.65, for a total value of $64,930,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 621,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,675,501.85. This trade represents a 24.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 306,900 shares of company stock worth $106,401,841 over the last ninety days. 14.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AppLovin Stock Up 1.3 %

APP stock opened at $235.28 on Wednesday. AppLovin Co. has a one year low of $60.67 and a one year high of $525.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.82, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $335.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $290.72. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a return on equity of 188.55% and a net margin of 33.54%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on APP. Citigroup upped their price target on AppLovin from $460.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $375.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on AppLovin from $325.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on AppLovin from $220.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $427.47.

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.