683 Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $APLS

Key Points

• 683 Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 22.8%, resulting in ownership of 333,000 shares valued at approximately $7.3 million.
• Other institutional investors significantly increased their holdings in the company, with Assetmark Inc. boosting its stake by 3,938.7% during the same period.
• Apellis Pharmaceuticals reported fiscal results showing a 10.6% decrease in revenue year-over-year, with an earnings per share of ($0.33), beating estimates.

683 Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) by 22.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 333,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 98,500 shares during the quarter. 683 Capital Management LLC owned 0.26% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals worth $7,283,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 969.6% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,518,827 shares of the company's stock worth $48,465,000 after buying an additional 1,376,832 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,461,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2,879.3% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,048,700 shares of the company's stock worth $22,935,000 after buying an additional 1,013,500 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3,791.4% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 997,053 shares of the company's stock worth $31,816,000 after buying an additional 971,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Suvretta Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $25,311,000. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on APLS shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 49,963 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.39, for a total value of $1,418,449.57. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 307,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,742,586.94. This represents a 13.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total transaction of $139,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 123,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,439,694. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 399,638 shares of company stock valued at $9,910,962 over the last quarter. Insiders own 6.50% of the company's stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.8%

Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $28.13. The stock had a trading volume of 2,810,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,052,001. The company has a quick ratio of 3.16, a current ratio of 3.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90. The firm has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.46 and a beta of 0.73. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.10 and a 52-week high of $41.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $22.96 and a 200 day moving average of $21.34.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported ($0.33) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.44) by $0.11. The business had revenue of $171.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $187.91 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.24% and a negative return on equity of 116.09%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.30) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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).