Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Purchases New Position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 191,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,117,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2,707.1% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 786 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 357.2% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 70.0% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,223 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 1,327 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1,819.2% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,992 shares of the company's stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 3,784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 89.0% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,107 shares of the company's stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 2,876 shares during the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,569 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 138,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,482,123. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 6,115 shares of company stock worth $154,684. 6.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on APLS shares. Wedbush cut their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $47.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Nine equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.37.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $17.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,303,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,218,435. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $16.65 and a one year high of $43.99. The company has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.63 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. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $21.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.05.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.74) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.36) by ($0.38). The firm had revenue of $149.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $197.61 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 103.11% and a negative net margin of 34.97%. Apellis Pharmaceuticals's revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.54) earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

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).