Some AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Chief Marketing Officer, Kihorany Jansen, recently sold a substantial US$34m worth of stock at a price of US$286 per share. That sale reduced their total holding by 12% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.
AppLovin Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
Notably, that recent sale by Kihorany Jansen is the biggest insider sale of AppLovin shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that even when the share price was slightly below the current price of US$291, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. We note that the biggest single sale was only 12% of Kihorany Jansen's holding.
In the last year AppLovin insiders didn't buy any company stock. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
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Does AppLovin Boast High Insider Ownership?
I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It's great to see that AppLovin insiders own 36% of the company, worth about US$35b. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.
What Might The Insider Transactions At AppLovin Tell Us?
Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. But since AppLovin is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing AppLovin. To assist with this, we've discovered 3 warning signs that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of AppLovin.
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For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
