Broadleaf Partners LLC Invests $3.97 Million in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Broadleaf Partners LLC purchased a new stake in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 12,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,967,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of APP. FMR LLC boosted its position in AppLovin by 75.5% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 13,851,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,485,409,000 after buying an additional 5,957,885 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in AppLovin in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,781,922,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its holdings in AppLovin by 5,421.4% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AppLovin in the fourth quarter worth about $828,138,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in AppLovin by 457.2% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,893,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $936,888,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373,885 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Trading Up 3.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:APP opened at $238.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $80.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.47, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.39. AppLovin Co. has a 12 month low of $60.67 and a 12 month high of $525.15. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $316.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $295.27. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 forecast that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of AppLovin from $500.00 to $335.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $375.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group cut their price target on AppLovin from $630.00 to $450.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Arete Research set a $200.00 price objective on AppLovin in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on AppLovin from $575.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AppLovin currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $424.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at AppLovin

In other AppLovin news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 17,500 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.65, for a total value of $4,228,875.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 88,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,359,201.85. The trade was a 16.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.65, for a total transaction of $64,930,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 621,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,675,501.85. This represents a 24.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 306,900 shares of company stock worth $106,401,841. Corporate insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

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.