AlphaQuest LLC Boosts Stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) by 8,083.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,186 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,976 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals were worth $548,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Amundi lifted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 10,967.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 329,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,876,000 after buying an additional 326,604 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 109,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,506,000 after buying an additional 10,482 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 30.8% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 4,046 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $1,564,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $216,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO James George Chopas sold 1,096 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.43, for a total transaction of $33,351.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 48,138 shares in the company, valued at $1,464,839.34. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Caroline Baumal sold 2,816 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.81, for a total value of $95,208.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 55,560 shares in the company, valued at $1,878,483.60. This trade represents a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 65,934 shares of company stock valued at $1,950,261. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of APLS opened at $25.18 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $28.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.77. The company has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.40 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 3.73 and a current ratio of 4.36. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.77 and a fifty-two week high of $59.91.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.29) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.37) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $212.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.92 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 103.11% and a negative net margin of 34.97%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 45.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.73) EPS. Research analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wedbush decreased their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.53.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Profile

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).