Optimize Financial Inc Makes New $3.74 Million Investment in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Optimize Financial Inc acquired a new stake in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 11,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,741,000. AppLovin comprises approximately 2.8% of Optimize Financial Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in AppLovin during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Riverview Trust Co increased its position in shares of AppLovin by 1,640.0% in the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Tucker Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Hemington Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of AppLovin by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 172.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 98 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Stock Down 5.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:APP opened at $249.95 on Friday. AppLovin Co. has a 12-month low of $60.67 and a 12-month high of $525.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.06, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $327.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $293.41. 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 (NASDAQ:APP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a net margin of 33.54% and a return on equity of 188.55%. On average, research analysts anticipate that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on APP. Benchmark boosted their price target on AppLovin from $375.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on AppLovin from $538.00 to $386.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. FBN Securities began coverage on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Friday, March 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $385.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Arete Research set a $200.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AppLovin presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $424.84.

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.65, for a total value of $4,228,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 88,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,359,201.85. This represents a 16.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.65, for a total value of $64,930,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 621,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,675,501.85. The trade was a 24.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 306,900 shares of company stock worth $106,401,841 over the last 90 days. 14.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.