Castellan Group Invests $8.80 Million in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Castellan Group acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 67,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,799,000. AppLovin comprises 3.7% of Castellan Group’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in AppLovin by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 2,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. boosted its stake in AppLovin by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in AppLovin by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 33,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,371,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of AppLovin by 2.6% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 4,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ APP traded down $12.93 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $325.28. The stock had a trading volume of 944,977 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,570,851. The company has a market capitalization of $109.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 2.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $238.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $141.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 2.41. AppLovin Co. has a 52 week low of $36.33 and a 52 week high of $417.64.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.33. AppLovin had a net margin of 26.85% and a return on equity of 122.24%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. AppLovin’s quarterly revenue was up 38.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that AppLovin Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AppLovin

In other news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 1,676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,090,066,927.65. This trade represents a 0.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 593,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.37, for a total transaction of $189,574,199.56. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 3,919,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,251,618,694.88. The trade was a 13.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 773,896 shares of company stock valued at $247,152,521. Corporate insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin in a report on Tuesday. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 target price (up previously from $170.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised AppLovin from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup upped their price target on AppLovin from $335.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on AppLovin from $270.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AppLovin presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.79.

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.