Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 10,643 Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) by 4.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 215,289 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,643 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.17% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals worth $5,895,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in APLS. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $390,000. Old West Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,953,000. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 25,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $739,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,810,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,229,000 after acquiring an additional 22,609 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 18.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 255,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,381,000 after acquiring an additional 39,019 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of APLS opened at $33.21 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 4.36, a quick ratio of 3.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.49. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.34 and a 1-year high of $73.80. The company has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.36 and a beta of 0.94.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.46) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.32) by ($0.14). Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 34.97% and a negative return on equity of 103.11%. The firm had revenue of $196.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $200.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.17) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on APLS shares. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright cut their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $83.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $43.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.94.

About Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutic compounds through the inhibition of the complement system for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. It offers EMPAVELI for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, C3 glomerulopathy and immune complex membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation-associated thrombotic microangiopathy; and SYFOVRE for treating geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration and geographic atrophy (GA).