Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $APLS Shares Purchased by HighVista Strategies LLC

HighVista Strategies LLC grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) by 68.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 145,729 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,066 shares during the period. HighVista Strategies LLC’s holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 11,373.8% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,704,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,821,000 after buying an additional 2,681,263 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,977,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 46.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,976,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,452,000 after buying an additional 1,898,995 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 386.7% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,604,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,585,000 after purchasing an additional 1,274,523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deep Track Capital LP increased its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 14.3% during the third quarter. Deep Track Capital LP now owns 8,000,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,049,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,382 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on APLS. Roth Mkm assumed coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.63.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, insider Nur Nicholson sold 7,725 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total value of $168,173.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 71,118 shares in the company, valued at $1,548,238.86. This represents a 9.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 5,928 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $129,052.56. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,151,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,065,586.14. This trade represents a 0.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 120,537 shares of company stock worth $2,608,532. 6.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ APLS opened at $18.94 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 2.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $16.10 and a one year high of $30.48. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $21.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a PE ratio of 145.70 and a beta of 0.26.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by $0.86. The company had revenue of $199.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.28 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 8.20% and a net margin of 2.23%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.29) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc, traded as NASDAQ:APLS, is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies targeting the complement cascade for the treatment of rare and debilitating diseases. The company’s research and development efforts center on modulating complement proteins to address a range of ophthalmologic, hematologic and renal conditions. Apellis leverages its proprietary compstatin technology platform to design targeted inhibitors intended to improve patient outcomes and quality of life.

The company’s lead marketed product, Syfovre (pegcetacoplan), is an intravitreal complement C3 inhibitor approved for geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration, with ongoing investigations in other retinal disorders.