Highland Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) by 0.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 28,120 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 153 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AppLovin were worth $1,946,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of AppLovin by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 155,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,738,000 after purchasing an additional 8,867 shares during the last quarter. PFG Advisors purchased a new position in AppLovin in the 1st quarter worth about $258,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in AppLovin by 93.4% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 25,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,798,000 after buying an additional 12,542 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in AppLovin by 33.5% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 1,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in AppLovin in the 1st quarter worth about $1,235,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Trading Up 3.5 %

APP stock traded up $2.85 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $84.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,952,367 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,464,295. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.59, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 2.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.18. AppLovin Co. has a 1 year low of $27.32 and a 1 year high of $91.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.51, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.86.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $973.70 million. AppLovin had a return on equity of 51.55% and a net margin of 16.46%. The business’s revenue was up 47.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.01) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that AppLovin Co. will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on AppLovin from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $97.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on AppLovin from $85.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Daiwa Capital Markets assumed coverage on AppLovin in a research note on Monday, April 15th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AppLovin presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.72.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Katie Kihorany Jansen sold 147,984 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.29, for a total transaction of $12,177,603.36. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 1,264,284 shares in the company, valued at $104,037,930.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Craig Scott Billings sold 5,620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.97, for a total transaction of $477,531.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $151,246.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Katie Kihorany Jansen sold 147,984 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.29, for a total value of $12,177,603.36. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 1,264,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,037,930.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,857,726 shares of company stock worth $1,489,251,374. Company insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

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.