Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $21.37 Million Stock Position in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP - Free Report) by 8.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 163,719 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,395 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in AppLovin were worth $21,374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new position in AppLovin during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $290,655,000. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin during the first quarter valued at $195,129,000. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. raised its position in AppLovin by 185.0% during the first quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,890,567 shares of the company's stock valued at $269,305,000 after buying an additional 2,525,240 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in AppLovin by 977.2% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,496,300 shares of the company's stock worth $124,522,000 after acquiring an additional 1,357,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its position in AppLovin by 419.3% during the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 724,930 shares of the company's stock worth $50,180,000 after acquiring an additional 585,337 shares during the period. 41.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $202.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of AppLovin in a report on Monday, October 28th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $66.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin in a report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded AppLovin from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $103.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AppLovin presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $194.31.

AppLovin Stock Performance

AppLovin stock traded up $2.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $286.10. The company had a trading volume of 5,145,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,302,958. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70. The firm has a market cap of $95.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.05, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a 50 day moving average of $151.08 and a 200-day moving average of $105.82. AppLovin Co. has a 52 week low of $35.79 and a 52 week high of $302.52.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.33. AppLovin had a net margin of 26.85% and a return on equity of 122.24%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 38.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AppLovin Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AppLovin

In other news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 154,500 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.14, for a total transaction of $12,999,630.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 4,530,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $381,192,483.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other AppLovin news, Director Dawson Alyssa Harvey sold 1,500 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.90, for a total transaction of $131,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $900,711.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 154,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.14, for a total transaction of $12,999,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 4,530,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $381,192,483.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 404,866 shares of company stock worth $34,670,777. 14.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.