AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) Stake Boosted by Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC

Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,013 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 468 shares during the period. AppLovin comprises approximately 3.6% of Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in AppLovin were worth $5,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of APP. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in AppLovin in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Riverview Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 1,640.0% during the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hemington Wealth Management increased its holdings in AppLovin by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in AppLovin by 172.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 98 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AppLovin news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 17,500 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 88,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,359,201.85. The trade was a 16.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $201,675,501.85. The trade was a 24.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 306,900 shares of company stock worth $106,401,841 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Stock Down 16.3 %

NASDAQ APP opened at $219.37 on Friday. AppLovin Co. has a twelve month low of $60.67 and a twelve month high of $525.15. The stock has a market cap of $74.58 billion, a PE ratio of 48.32, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.39. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $342.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $288.42. 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 (NASDAQ:APP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a return on equity of 188.55% and a net margin of 33.54%. On average, research analysts forecast that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on APP. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $400.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $325.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $538.00 target price on shares of AppLovin and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Arete Research set a $200.00 price target on AppLovin in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AppLovin currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $435.47.

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.