IFM Investors Pty Ltd Buys Shares of 31,641 AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd purchased a new position in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 31,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,190,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of APP. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth approximately $165,057,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of AppLovin by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,099,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $723,245,000 after buying an additional 1,411,453 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of AppLovin by 4,805.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,402,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,050,000 after acquiring an additional 1,374,066 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 4th quarter valued at $43,973,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in AppLovin by 42.6% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,298,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,605,000 after acquiring an additional 686,258 shares in the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AppLovin Stock Performance

Shares of AppLovin stock traded up $4.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $73.82. 5,381,253 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,326,516. AppLovin Co. has a 12 month low of $15.70 and a 12 month high of $79.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.97. The company has a market capitalization of $25.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $953.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.66 million. AppLovin had a return on equity of 24.69% and a net margin of 10.84%. AppLovin’s quarterly revenue was up 35.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.21) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AppLovin Co. will post 2.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Daiwa Capital Markets began coverage on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Monday, April 15th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. TheStreet raised AppLovin from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on AppLovin from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on AppLovin from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on AppLovin from $67.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.31.

Insider Transactions at AppLovin

In related news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.01, for a total transaction of $3,750,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 471,560 shares in the company, valued at $35,371,715.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.01, for a total value of $3,750,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 471,560 shares in the company, valued at $35,371,715.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew Stumpf sold 2,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.30, for a total value of $175,657.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 362,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,931,311.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 61,215 shares of company stock worth $4,416,815 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 12.43% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Company 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.