Castleark Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Castleark Management LLC lowered its position in shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) by 66.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,140 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,240 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC’s holdings in AppLovin were worth $540,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in APP. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of AppLovin by 64.9% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 7,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,037,000 after buying an additional 3,126 shares during the last quarter. Second Half Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in AppLovin in the third quarter worth $224,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in AppLovin by 2,200.4% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 523,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,297,000 after acquiring an additional 500,407 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its position in AppLovin by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 10,820,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,382,307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,009 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in AppLovin by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,440,000 after purchasing an additional 2,385 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Craig Scott Billings sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.94, for a total value of $5,740,920.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,987 shares in the company, valued at $952,673.78. This trade represents a 85.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 17,925 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.15, for a total value of $6,348,138.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 405,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $143,670,155.40. The trade was a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 778,320 shares of company stock valued at $246,810,683 in the last 90 days. 14.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AppLovin Stock Performance

APP stock opened at $401.50 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $226.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70. AppLovin Co. has a 12-month low of $35.79 and a 12-month high of $417.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $134.74 billion, a PE ratio of 121.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 2.28.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.33. AppLovin had a return on equity of 122.24% and a net margin of 26.85%. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 38.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that AppLovin Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $181.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on AppLovin in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Macquarie increased their target price on AppLovin from $270.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on AppLovin from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective (up previously from $170.00) on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.79.

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.