Castellan Group Invests $8.80 Million in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Castellan Group bought a new stake in shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 67,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,799,000. AppLovin makes up approximately 3.7% of Castellan Group’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the third quarter worth about $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in AppLovin during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of AppLovin in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. 41.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price target (up previously from $170.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded AppLovin from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $80.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Tuesday. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on AppLovin from $181.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered AppLovin from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $103.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.79.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Herald Y. Chen sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.16, for a total value of $146,464.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 207,649 shares in the company, valued at $76,032,757.84. The trade was a 0.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Katie Kihorany Jansen sold 59,876 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.14, for a total transaction of $17,132,918.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 1,017,388 shares in the company, valued at $291,115,402.32. This represents a 5.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 773,896 shares of company stock valued at $247,152,521 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:APP traded down $12.93 during trading on Thursday, hitting $325.28. 944,977 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,570,851. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $238.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $141.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.49, a PEG ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 2.27. AppLovin Co. has a 12-month low of $36.33 and a 12-month high of $417.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.41.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.25 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. AppLovin’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that AppLovin Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AppLovin 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.