Castle Hook Partners LP Buys Shares of 633,641 AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Castle Hook Partners LP bought a new position in shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 633,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,192,000. AppLovin accounts for 2.5% of Castle Hook Partners LP’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in AppLovin during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Riverview Trust Co raised its position in shares of AppLovin by 1,640.0% during the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in AppLovin in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management grew its holdings in AppLovin by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AppLovin Trading Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ:APP opened at $301.84 on Tuesday. AppLovin Co. has a 12 month low of $60.67 and a 12 month high of $525.15. The business’s 50-day moving average is $276.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $308.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.61 billion, a PE ratio of 66.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.39.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts predict that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AppLovin

In other news, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $422.21, for a total transaction of $18,999,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,914,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,230,527,667.32. This represents a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 306,900 shares of company stock worth $106,401,841 in the last ninety days. 14.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on APP shares. Morgan Stanley raised AppLovin from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $470.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of AppLovin from $375.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. HSBC set a $436.00 price target on shares of AppLovin and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $475.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of AppLovin from $575.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $415.15.

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.