Baillie Gifford & Co. Makes New Investment in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Baillie Gifford & Co. purchased a new position in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 73,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,658,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in APP. Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new stake in AppLovin during the 2nd quarter valued at about $290,655,000. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in AppLovin in the first quarter valued at approximately $195,129,000. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in AppLovin by 185.0% in 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 last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in AppLovin by 977.2% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,496,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,522,000 after buying an additional 1,357,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in AppLovin by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 10,820,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,382,307,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,009 shares during the period. 41.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of AppLovin from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $280.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Daiwa America raised AppLovin from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on AppLovin from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America boosted their price target on AppLovin from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $155.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $194.31.

Insider Transactions at AppLovin

In related news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 154,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.14, for a total value of $12,999,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 4,530,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $381,192,483.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 154,500 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 4,530,455 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dawson Alyssa Harvey sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.90, for a total transaction of $131,850.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $900,711.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 404,866 shares of company stock worth $34,670,777 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of APP opened at $289.03 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $143.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 2.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.59, a PEG ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 1.86. AppLovin Co. has a one year low of $35.79 and a one year high of $292.86.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 38.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that AppLovin Co. will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.