Lazard Asset Management LLC Cuts Stake in AppLovin Corporation $APP

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) by 27.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,493 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,181 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AppLovin were worth $6,564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in APP. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 111.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,852,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,516,471,000 after purchasing an additional 6,237,051 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in AppLovin by 3,118.6% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,194,071 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,826,049,000 after purchasing an additional 4,063,763 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AppLovin in the fourth quarter worth $2,040,321,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in AppLovin by 46.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,374,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,706,144,000 after buying an additional 756,660 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of AppLovin by 81.3% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,426,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $961,471,000 after buying an additional 639,836 shares during the last quarter. 41.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 62,804 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $484.42, for a total value of $30,423,513.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 3,189,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,545,173,366.38. This trade represents a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Matthew Stumpf sold 9,052 shares of AppLovin stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $5,431,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 177,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $106,470,000. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 393,000 shares of company stock valued at $197,297,363. 12.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AppLovin Stock Performance

AppLovin stock opened at $403.87 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The firm has a market cap of $135.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 2.49. AppLovin Corporation has a 1-year low of $359.00 and a 1-year high of $745.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $492.91 and a 200-day moving average of $472.81.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. AppLovin had a return on equity of 219.37% and a net margin of 64.29%.AppLovin’s revenue was up 58.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that AppLovin Corporation will post 15.93 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of AppLovin in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on AppLovin from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 price objective on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Argus started coverage on AppLovin in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $520.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AppLovin currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $668.45.

AppLovin Profile

AppLovin Corporation is a Palo Alto–based mobile technology company that provides software and services to help app developers grow and monetize their businesses. The company operates a data-driven advertising and marketing platform that connects app publishers and advertisers, delivering tools for user acquisition, monetization, analytics and creative optimization. AppLovin’s technology is integrated into a broad set of mobile applications through software development kits (SDKs) and ad products designed to maximize revenue and engagement for developers.

Key components of AppLovin’s offering include an ad mediation and exchange platform that enables publishers to manage and monetize inventory across multiple demand sources, and a user-acquisition platform that helps advertisers target and scale campaigns.