Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Lowers Position in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board decreased its stake in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) by 54.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,019 shares of the company's stock after selling 25,508 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings in AppLovin were worth $6,807,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Oxinas Partners Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in AppLovin during the 4th quarter valued at $1,081,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,211,000. Franchise Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin in the fourth quarter valued at $2,811,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of AppLovin by 92.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 318,992 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,643,000 after acquiring an additional 153,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tcfg Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $369,000. 41.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AppLovin Trading Up 6.2 %

APP traded up $15.53 on Thursday, hitting $267.88. 6,731,458 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,869,734. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $300.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $298.16. AppLovin Co. has a 12 month low of $60.67 and a 12 month high of $525.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 2.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.07 billion, a PE ratio of 59.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.39.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AppLovin

In other news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $422.21, for a total value of $18,999,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,914,492 shares in the company, valued at $1,230,527,667.32. This represents a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 17,500 shares of AppLovin 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 transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 88,389 shares in the company, valued at $21,359,201.85. This represents a 16.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 306,900 shares of company stock valued at $106,401,841 in the last quarter. 14.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Arete Research set a $200.00 target price on shares of AppLovin in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on AppLovin from $475.00 to $270.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley raised AppLovin from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $470.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $560.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $414.05.

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.