Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $APLS Stock Position Raised by Woodline Partners LP

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP has increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 15.5%, acquiring an additional 29,373 shares, making its total holding approximately $4.79 million.
• Insider transactions showed General Counsel David O. Watson and CEO Cedric Francois both selling significant shares, with Watson's sale representing a 3.88% decrease in their ownership and Francois a 13.96% decrease.
• Apellis Pharmaceuticals has received varying price target adjustments from several analysts, with Robert W. Baird increasing its target to $50.00, while the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Woodline Partners LP grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) by 15.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 218,850 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 29,373 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP owned approximately 0.17% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals worth $4,786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of APLS. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 119.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,077,419 shares of the company's stock worth $89,173,000 after purchasing an additional 2,220,977 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 969.6% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,518,827 shares of the company's stock worth $48,465,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376,832 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $40,461,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2,879.3% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,048,700 shares of the company's stock worth $22,935,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3,791.4% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 997,053 shares of the company's stock worth $31,816,000 after purchasing an additional 971,431 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company's stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:APLS traded down $0.57 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $23.82. 3,498,594 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,292,667. The company has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.09 and a beta of 0.73. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.10 and a 12 month high of $37.83. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $23.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.26.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on APLS. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. One research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $34.12.

Insider Activity at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,439,694. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 49,963 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.39, for a total transaction of $1,418,449.57. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 307,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,742,586.94. This trade represents a 13.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 394,638 shares of company stock valued at $9,817,112. 6.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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).