Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Increases Holdings in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) by 55.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 235,042 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 83,782 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of AppLovin worth $9,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of APP. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 143.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 116,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,672,000 after purchasing an additional 68,822 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in AppLovin by 4,805.9% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,402,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,050,000 after buying an additional 1,374,066 shares during the last quarter. Black Swift Group LLC purchased a new position in AppLovin during the third quarter worth about $999,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in AppLovin by 8.5% during the third 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. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,367,000. 41.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AppLovin Trading Up 3.6 %

NASDAQ:APP opened at $75.07 on Friday. AppLovin Co. has a 52-week low of $16.56 and a 52-week high of $79.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.10. The company has a market capitalization of $25.67 billion, a PE ratio of 75.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.85.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.14. AppLovin had a return on equity of 24.69% and a net margin of 10.84%. The firm had revenue of $953.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.66 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.21) EPS. AppLovin’s revenue was up 35.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that AppLovin Co. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AppLovin news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 471,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,371,715.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other AppLovin news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 50,000 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were 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 approximately $35,371,715.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Craig Scott Billings sold 5,550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total value of $323,731.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,739 shares in the company, valued at $743,065.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 61,215 shares of company stock valued at $4,416,815. Company insiders own 12.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on AppLovin from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Daiwa Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Monday, April 15th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of AppLovin from $59.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of AppLovin from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded AppLovin from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.60.

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.