Rakuten Securities Inc. Grows Holdings in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) by 1,066.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,823 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,981 shares during the period. AppLovin accounts for about 1.3% of Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in AppLovin were worth $3,181,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in AppLovin in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in AppLovin in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in AppLovin in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. 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 worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $422.21, for a total transaction of $18,999,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,914,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,230,527,667.32. This represents a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 99,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.50, for a total value of $32,620,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 621,209 shares in the company, valued at $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 sold 404,371 shares of company stock worth $139,793,507. 14.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on APP. Wells Fargo & Company set a $538.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $375.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $220.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $375.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of AppLovin from $250.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AppLovin presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $438.28.

AppLovin Stock Up 8.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:APP opened at $257.76 on Wednesday. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $59.92 and a 52-week high of $525.15. The company has a 50 day moving average of $360.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $265.20. The company has a market capitalization of $87.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.33.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 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, analysts forecast that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.