Principal Securities Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,899 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in AppLovin were worth $1,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in AppLovin in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the third quarter worth $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in AppLovin during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AppLovin

In other AppLovin news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 1,676 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.39, for a total value of $597,309.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,058,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,090,066,927.65. The trade was a 0.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Dawson Alyssa Harvey sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.27, for a total value of $203,135.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,715,508.68. This represents a 6.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 828,991 shares of company stock worth $267,640,144 in the last ninety days. 14.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price target (up from $170.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on AppLovin from $375.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark raised their target price on AppLovin from $375.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Daiwa America raised AppLovin from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AppLovin presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $422.18.

AppLovin Trading Down 2.8 %

APP opened at $496.07 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 150.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 2.30. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $358.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $237.58. AppLovin Co. has a 1-year low of $54.50 and a 1-year high of $525.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.41.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a return on equity of 122.24% and a net margin of 26.85%. Analysts expect that AppLovin Co. will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.