150,000 Shares in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $APLS Purchased by Alyeska Investment Group L.P.

Key Points

• Alyeska Investment Group L.P. has acquired a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., purchasing 150,000 shares valued at approximately $3.28 million, representing 0.12% of the company.
• Several other institutional investors, including GF Fund Management and Baird Financial Group, have also increased their positions in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter, with institutional ownership now at 96.29%.
• Apellis Pharmaceuticals reported earnings per share of ($0.33) for the most recent quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate and achieving a revenue of $171.39 million, although this represented a 10.6% year-over-year decline.

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 150,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,280,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned 0.12% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 969.6% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,518,827 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,465,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376,832 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $40,461,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,013,500 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 971,431 shares during the period. Finally, Suvretta Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $25,311,000. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total value of $139,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 123,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,439,694. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 49,963 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 307,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,742,586.94. The trade was a 13.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 399,638 shares of company stock valued at $9,910,962. 6.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APLS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Raymond James Financial reduced 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $34.12.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ APLS traded down $0.64 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $25.40. The stock had a trading volume of 2,161,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,051,605. The firm's 50 day moving average is $23.65 and its 200 day moving average is $21.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 3.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.96 and a beta of 0.73. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.10 and a twelve month high of $38.69.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported ($0.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 30.24% and a negative return on equity of 116.09%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.30) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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).