AlphaQuest LLC Acquires 38,918 Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $APLS

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 226.5% in Q1, holding over 56,000 shares valued at $1.23 million according to its SEC filing.
• Major institutional investors like Vanguard Group and AQR Capital Management have also boosted their holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during recent quarters.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Apellis Pharmaceuticals, with one raising their price target to $50 while another lowered it to $29, reflecting varied expectations for the stock's performance.

AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) by 226.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,104 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 38,918 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in APLS. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3,938.7% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,252 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,221 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $83,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 89.0% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,107 shares of the company's stock worth $195,000 after buying an additional 2,876 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $223,000. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $268,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total transaction of $139,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 123,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,439,694. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 137,465 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,933,912.27. This represents a 28.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 174,090 shares of company stock valued at $3,542,832. 6.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of APLS traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $28.05. The stock had a trading volume of 1,061,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,289,120. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.10 and a 12 month high of $41.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of -15.41 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 3.16 and a current ratio of 3.77. The company's 50-day moving average is $21.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.39.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on APLS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Mizuho cut their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $34.12.

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).