Sterling Capital Management LLC Acquires 25,200 Shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) by 527.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,974 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 25,200 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in AppLovin were worth $9,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its holdings in AppLovin by 60.2% during the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 410,545 shares of the company's stock valued at $132,947,000 after acquiring an additional 154,241 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth approximately $387,000. CenterBook Partners LP bought a new position in AppLovin during the fourth quarter worth $9,027,000. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in AppLovin during the 4th quarter valued at $1,373,000. Finally, APG Asset Management US Inc. bought a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 4th quarter worth about $2,120,000. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on AppLovin from $375.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of AppLovin from $325.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Arete Research set a $200.00 price target on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on AppLovin from $375.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $424.84.

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AppLovin Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of AppLovin stock traded up $4.33 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $240.40. 4,099,003 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,764,645. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.39. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $324.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $295.32. AppLovin Co. has a 1-year low of $60.67 and a 1-year high of $525.15.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 200,000 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the director now owns 621,209 shares in the company, valued at $201,675,501.85. This represents a 24.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 17,500 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief technology officer now owns 88,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,359,201.85. The trade was a 16.53 % 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 valued at $106,401,841. 14.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AppLovin 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.