Banco BTG Pactual S.A. Takes Position in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Banco BTG Pactual S.A. acquired a new position in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $329,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AppLovin by 89.7% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 681 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its position in AppLovin by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $428,000 after buying an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its stake in AppLovin by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 2,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of AppLovin by 36.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 18,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,366,000 after buying an additional 4,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of AppLovin by 24.7% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 96,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,592,000 after acquiring an additional 19,100 shares during the period. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at AppLovin

In other AppLovin news, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.65, for a total value of $64,930,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 621,209 shares in the company, valued at $201,675,501.85. The trade was 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 the SEC website. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.65, for a total transaction of $4,228,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 88,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,359,201.85. This trade represents a 16.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 306,900 shares of company stock valued at $106,401,841. Insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $560.00 price objective (up previously from $480.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on AppLovin from $375.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on AppLovin from $250.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $438.28.

AppLovin Price Performance

NASDAQ APP opened at $327.62 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $354.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $280.55. AppLovin Co. has a 52-week low of $60.67 and a 52-week high of $525.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.33. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share (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%. Equities research analysts predict that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.