AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) by 20.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 56,855 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,632 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AppLovin were worth $18,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in APP. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 92.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 318,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,643,000 after buying an additional 153,248 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the 4th quarter worth $323,000. Brookstone Capital Management acquired a new stake in AppLovin in the 4th quarter valued at $290,000. Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AppLovin in the 4th quarter valued at $415,000. Finally, Signet Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in AppLovin in the 4th quarter valued at $317,000. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.65, for a total transaction of $64,930,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 621,209 shares in the company, valued at $201,675,501.85. This represents a 24.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $422.21, for a total transaction of $18,999,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,914,492 shares in the company, valued at $1,230,527,667.32. The trade was a 1.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 306,900 shares of company stock worth $106,401,841 over the last quarter. 14.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APP has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group increased their price target on AppLovin from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on AppLovin from $335.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Bank of America increased their price target on AppLovin from $375.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on AppLovin from $386.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on AppLovin from $270.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $433.85.

AppLovin Stock Performance

Shares of APP stock opened at $370.10 on Wednesday. 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 one year low of $60.67 and a one year high of $525.15. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $278.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $314.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.52, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.39.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.22. AppLovin had a net margin of 33.54% and a return on equity of 188.55%. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 40.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AppLovin 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.