Sheets Smith Investment Management Acquires Shares of 10,074 AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Sheets Smith Investment Management purchased a new position in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 10,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,262,000. AppLovin accounts for 2.8% of Sheets Smith Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of APP. FMR LLC boosted its position in AppLovin by 622.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,893,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,030,462,000 after acquiring an additional 6,801,138 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in AppLovin during the 4th quarter valued at $1,781,922,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its position in AppLovin by 5,421.4% during the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,084,496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,322,682,000 after acquiring an additional 4,010,520 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in AppLovin during the 4th quarter valued at $535,070,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in AppLovin during the 4th quarter valued at $414,462,000. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Macquarie increased their target price on AppLovin from $270.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Arete Research set a $200.00 target price on AppLovin in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group raised their price objective on AppLovin from $440.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on AppLovin from $400.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on AppLovin from $220.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AppLovin currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $438.28.

Insider Activity

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

AppLovin Stock Performance

Shares of APP opened at $314.03 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $106.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $353.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $276.60. 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.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a return on equity of 188.55% and a net margin of 33.54%. As a group, research analysts predict that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 EPS for the current 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.