Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Stock Position in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 996,996 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 269,134 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.30% of AppLovin worth $130,158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in AppLovin in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of AppLovin during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in AppLovin during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in AppLovin during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 41.85% of the company's stock.

AppLovin Stock Up 6.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:APP traded up $19.49 on Monday, hitting $343.96. 8,302,336 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,601,208. The company has a market cap of $115.43 billion, a PE ratio of 103.05, a PEG ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 2.28. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $246.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.23. AppLovin Co. has a 52 week low of $37.40 and a 52 week high of $417.64. 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 (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.33. AppLovin had a return on equity of 122.24% and a net margin of 26.85%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. The company's revenue was up 38.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that AppLovin Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AppLovin

In other AppLovin news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 17,925 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.15, for a total transaction of $6,348,138.75. Following the sale, the insider now owns 405,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,670,155.40. This trade represents a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Katie Kihorany Jansen sold 59,876 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.14, for a total transaction of $17,132,918.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 1,017,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $291,115,402.32. The trade was a 5.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 872,896 shares of company stock worth $279,773,021. Insiders own 14.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on APP shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of AppLovin from $252.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Daiwa America upgraded AppLovin from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on AppLovin from $250.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of AppLovin from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $335.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $296.40.

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.