Boxer Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 1,426,000 Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)

Boxer Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,426,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,504,000. Apellis Pharmaceuticals accounts for about 3.8% of Boxer Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Boxer Capital Management LLC owned 1.15% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,884,730 shares of the company's stock worth $112,036,000 after buying an additional 735,160 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 21,649 shares of the company's stock worth $691,000 after acquiring an additional 1,864 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3,862.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 104,287 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,328,000 after acquiring an additional 101,655 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $445,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 18.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 255,897 shares of the company's stock worth $7,381,000 after purchasing an additional 39,019 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wedbush lowered their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $45.28.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,569 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the general counsel now directly owns 138,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,482,123. This represents a 3.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,115 shares of company stock valued at $154,684. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $1.66 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $17.46. 3,087,067 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,189,852. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of -8.59 and a beta of 0.73. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.77 and a fifty-two week high of $47.60. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.25. 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 (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.74) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.36) by ($0.38). The firm had revenue of $149.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $197.61 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 34.97% and a negative return on equity of 103.11%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.54) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Company 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).