Avoro Capital Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)

Avoro Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,222,222 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,111,111 shares during the period. Apellis Pharmaceuticals comprises approximately 5.5% of Avoro Capital Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC owned 9.83% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals worth $390,011,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 275.9% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 19,965 shares of the company's stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 14,654 shares during the last quarter. Natixis bought a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,782,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 25,645 shares of the company's stock worth $818,000 after buying an additional 8,344 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,123,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 292.4% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 85,495 shares of the company's stock worth $2,728,000 after purchasing an additional 63,705 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company's stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ APLS traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $17.49. 2,870,339 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,166,169. The firm has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.62 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 4.36 and a quick ratio of 3.73. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.98 and a 12-month high of $50.98.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.29) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.37) by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $212.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.92 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 103.11% and a negative net margin of 34.97%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 45.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.73) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 2,824 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total transaction of $83,364.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 415,695 shares in the company, valued at $12,271,316.40. This represents a 0.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,569 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.10, for a total transaction of $139,781.90. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 138,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,482,123. The trade was a 3.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,005 shares of company stock worth $299,037 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APLS has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $45.35.

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).