Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $21.37 Million Position in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) by 8.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 163,719 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,395 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in AppLovin were worth $21,374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in AppLovin by 167.0% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 16,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,118,000 after purchasing an additional 10,099 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of AppLovin during the first quarter worth $1,235,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of AppLovin by 33.5% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 1,028 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in AppLovin by 457.9% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 291,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,168,000 after acquiring an additional 239,131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in AppLovin by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Daiwa America raised AppLovin from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on AppLovin from $181.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Benchmark reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of AppLovin from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $100.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $194.31.

AppLovin Price Performance

AppLovin stock opened at $283.96 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $94.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.84, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $147.16 and its 200-day moving average is $104.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70. AppLovin Co. has a 12 month low of $35.79 and a 12 month high of $292.86.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.33. AppLovin had a return on equity of 122.24% and a net margin of 26.85%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 38.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that AppLovin Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 14,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.98, for a total value of $1,274,656.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 352,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,728,387.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other AppLovin news, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 14,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.98, for a total transaction of $1,274,656.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 352,616 shares in the company, valued at $31,728,387.68. This 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 is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Dawson Alyssa Harvey sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.90, for a total value of $131,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,711.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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 90 days. Company insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

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.