Neuberger Berman Group LLC Grows Stock Position in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its stake in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) by 60.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 410,545 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 154,241 shares during the quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned about 0.12% of AppLovin worth $132,947,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in APP. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in shares of AppLovin by 38.8% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 25,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,286,000 after acquiring an additional 7,039 shares in the last quarter. Oxinas Partners Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin in the 4th quarter worth $1,081,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in AppLovin during the third quarter valued at $3,211,000. Franchise Capital Ltd bought a new stake in AppLovin during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,811,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 35.9% in the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 22,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,994,000 after purchasing an additional 6,058 shares during the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AppLovin Price Performance

Shares of APP opened at $274.96 on Thursday. AppLovin Co. has a fifty-two week low of $60.67 and a fifty-two week high of $525.15. The company has a market capitalization of $93.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.39. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $331.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $291.64. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a net margin of 33.54% and a return on equity of 188.55%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on APP. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $375.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. FBN Securities assumed coverage on shares of AppLovin in a report on Friday, March 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $385.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $460.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $427.47.

Insider Activity at AppLovin

In other news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.65, for a total transaction of $4,228,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 88,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,359,201.85. This represents a 16.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.65, for a total transaction of $64,930,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 621,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $201,675,501.85. This trade represents a 24.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 306,900 shares of company stock worth $106,401,841 over the last quarter. 14.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About AppLovin

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.