Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 155,776 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,592 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in AppLovin were worth $6,208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in AppLovin during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $165,057,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 1,194.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,040,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,725,000 after purchasing an additional 2,805,820 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in AppLovin by 425.7% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,134,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,917,000 after purchasing an additional 2,538,618 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AppLovin in the fourth quarter worth $22,402,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in AppLovin by 2,856.9% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,851,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,167,000 after buying an additional 1,789,271 shares during the period. 41.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AppLovin

In other news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 2,890 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.76, for a total value of $166,926.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 546,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,569,305.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other AppLovin news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 2,890 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.76, for a total value of $166,926.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 546,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,569,305.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Craig Scott Billings sold 5,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total transaction of $323,731.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $743,065.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 61,215 shares of company stock valued at $4,416,815 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 12.43% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Stock Down 3.0 %

NASDAQ:APP opened at $66.80 on Friday. AppLovin Co. has a 1-year low of $15.41 and a 1-year high of $79.55. The company has a market capitalization of $22.85 billion, a PE ratio of 66.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $65.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.14. AppLovin had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 24.69%. The business had revenue of $953.26 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $928.66 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.21) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 35.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that AppLovin Co. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on APP. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on AppLovin from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. TheStreet upgraded AppLovin from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of AppLovin from $67.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of AppLovin from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of AppLovin from $59.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AppLovin presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.31.

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.