PDS Planning Inc Makes New $342,000 Investment in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

PDS Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $342,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of APP. FMR LLC raised its stake in AppLovin by 622.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,893,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,030,462,000 after acquiring an additional 6,801,138 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth $1,781,922,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in AppLovin by 5,421.4% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,084,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,322,682,000 after acquiring an additional 4,010,520 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the fourth quarter valued at $535,070,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of AppLovin in the fourth quarter valued at about $414,462,000. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AppLovin Price Performance

AppLovin stock opened at $278.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.42, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.33. AppLovin Co. has a 1 year low of $60.67 and a 1 year high of $525.15. The business has a 50-day moving average of $355.01 and a 200-day moving average of $272.03. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AppLovin

In related news, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 621,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $201,675,501.85. The trade was a 24.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $422.21, for a total value of $18,999,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,914,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,230,527,667.32. This represents a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 322,871 shares of company stock worth $111,401,882. 14.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on APP. Benchmark lifted 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. Bank of America lifted their price target on AppLovin from $375.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Macquarie lifted their price target on AppLovin from $270.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on AppLovin from $250.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $560.00 price target (up from $480.00) on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $438.28.

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.