Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Shares Acquired by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) by 127.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,856,442 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,039,182 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.49% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals worth $59,239,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,884,730 shares of the company's stock valued at $112,036,000 after purchasing an additional 735,160 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 21,649 shares of the company's stock worth $691,000 after purchasing an additional 1,864 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3,862.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 104,287 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,328,000 after buying an additional 101,655 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $445,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 18.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 255,897 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,381,000 after buying an additional 39,019 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,569 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.10, for a total value of $139,781.90. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 138,730 shares in the company, valued at $3,482,123. This represents a 3.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders sold 6,115 shares of company stock valued at $154,684. Insiders own 6.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on APLS shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $44.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $45.28.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.3 %

APLS stock traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $20.34. 2,221,961 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,174,697. The company has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.02 and a beta of 0.73. 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 1-year low of $16.98 and a 1-year high of $49.06. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $21.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.36.

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

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).