Next Century Growth Investors LLC Makes New $2.78 Million Investment in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Next Century Growth Investors LLC bought a new stake in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,573 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,776,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of APP. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Riverview Trust Co increased its stake in AppLovin by 1,640.0% in the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 87 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Tucker Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in AppLovin during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 78.4% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 91 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in AppLovin by 172.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 98 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on APP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of AppLovin from $325.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of AppLovin from $538.00 to $386.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of AppLovin from $575.00 to $425.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of AppLovin from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Arete Research set a $200.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $424.84.

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AppLovin Stock Performance

APP stock traded up $9.40 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $245.47. 6,757,269 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,774,337. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $324.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $295.32. 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 $60.67 and a 52 week high of $525.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.07, 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 EPS 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AppLovin

In other news, 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 transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 88,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,359,201.85. This trade represents a 16.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 45,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,914,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,230,527,667.32. The trade was a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 306,900 shares of company stock worth $106,401,841 in the last ninety days. 14.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.