Aigen Investment Management LP Takes $342,000 Position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)

Key Points

• Aigen Investment Management LP has acquired a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, purchasing 15,621 shares for approximately $342,000.
• Institutional investors now own 96.29% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals' stock, reflecting significant institutional interest in the company.
• Apellis Pharmaceuticals reported a negative net margin of 30.24% and a year-over-year revenue decline of 10.6% during its latest quarter.

Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 15,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $342,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APLS. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 89.0% in the fourth 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 period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 46,667 shares of the company's stock worth $1,478,000 after acquiring an additional 15,286 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 105.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 80,991 shares of the company's stock worth $2,584,000 after purchasing an additional 41,635 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $1,564,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd lifted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 9,785 shares of the company's stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 2,649 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 137,465 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.19, for a total value of $2,775,418.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,933,912.27. This trade represents a 28.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total value of $97,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 128,730 shares in the company, valued at $2,516,671.50. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 169,090 shares of company stock worth $3,403,832 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on APLS. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $28.00 to $20.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $34.12.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

APLS traded up $0.13 on Friday, hitting $27.75. 3,877,569 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,146,283. The company has a 50 day moving average of $20.17 and a 200-day moving average of $21.45. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a PE ratio of -15.25 and a beta of 0.78. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.10 and a 12-month high of $41.94.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported ($0.33) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by $0.11. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 116.09% and a negative net margin of 30.24%. The company had revenue of $171.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $187.91 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.30) EPS. The company's revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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).