Rakuten Securities Inc. Boosts Stake in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) by 1,066.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,823 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,981 shares during the period. AppLovin makes up 1.3% of Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in AppLovin were worth $3,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in AppLovin during the third quarter worth about $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in AppLovin during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Riverview Trust Co increased its position in AppLovin by 1,640.0% during the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management increased its position in AppLovin by 78.4% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AppLovin

In other AppLovin news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 44,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.89, for a total value of $18,243,516.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,869,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,179,045,567.88. The trade was a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 99,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.50, for a total transaction of $32,620,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 621,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,688,365.50. This trade represents a 13.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 404,371 shares of company stock valued at $139,793,507. 14.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AppLovin Stock Performance

Shares of AppLovin stock opened at $257.76 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $360.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $265.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.78, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.33. AppLovin Co. has a 12 month low of $59.92 and a 12 month 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a net margin of 33.54% and a return on equity of 188.55%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on APP. Wells Fargo & Company set a $538.00 price target on shares of AppLovin and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of AppLovin from $400.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of AppLovin from $250.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of AppLovin from $375.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $560.00 price target (up from $480.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AppLovin presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $438.28.

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.