Merit Financial Group LLC Decreases Stake in AppLovin Corporation $APP

Merit Financial Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) by 21.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,974 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,905 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in AppLovin were worth $3,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in AppLovin in the 2nd quarter valued at about $291,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 13,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,832,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of AppLovin by 3.4% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 7,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,917,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Archford Capital Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the second quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ APP opened at $315.44 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $105.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 2.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 4.30 and a quick ratio of 4.30. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $447.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $456.06. AppLovin Corporation has a 1 year low of $303.17 and a 1 year high of $745.61.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $3.76 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.76. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. AppLovin had a return on equity of 193.10% and a net margin of 64.58%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 52.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that AppLovin Corporation will post 15.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wedbush reduced their price objective on AppLovin from $640.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded AppLovin from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $357.00 target price (down from $575.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group cut their target price on AppLovin from $798.00 to $790.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Benchmark reduced their price target on AppLovin from $775.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AppLovin currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $565.91.

Key Headlines Impacting AppLovin

Here are the key news stories impacting AppLovin this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts remain constructive on AppLovin’s valuation and financial profile. Phillip Securities upgraded the stock, while a recent analysis argued that the shares may be mispriced relative to the company’s fundamentals after reaching a 52-week low. AppLovin Upgraded at Phillip Securities AppLovin at 52-Week Low
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan initiated coverage with a Neutral rating, recognizing AppLovin’s strong profitability and balance-sheet profile while questioning whether its rapid mobile-gaming advertising growth can continue. Bank of America also rates the shares Neutral. JPMorgan Initiates AppLovin Coverage Bank of America Neutral Rating
• Negative Sentiment: AppLovin’s latest quarterly results fell slightly short of revenue expectations, and adjusted EBITDA also missed estimates. Management attributed the weakness to slower-than-usual improvements in its core gaming advertising models, intensifying concerns about earnings-growth durability. AppLovin Q2 Earnings Call
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive risks from Unity and Meta, as well as questions about whether Google could challenge AppLovin’s advertising position, are weighing on the investment narrative. BTIG issued a pessimistic forecast, and another analyst downgrade previously contributed to selling pressure. BTIG Forecast for AppLovin AppLovin and Google Competition
• Negative Sentiment: Quant fund Renaissance Technologies exited its AppLovin position, a potential additional overhang for sentiment even though the move reflects portfolio management rather than a fundamental company announcement. Renaissance Changes Holdings

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. sold 3,076 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $521.29, for a total value of $1,603,488.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 120,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,786,252.76. This represents a 2.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Eduardo Vivas sold 163,910 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $504.06, for a total value of $82,620,474.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,785,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,420,090,953.22. This represents a 2.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 393,000 shares of company stock valued at $197,297,363. 12.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About AppLovin

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.