Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 44,332 Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) by 147.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,325 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 44,332 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.06% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals worth $1,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APLS. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2,707.1% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 786 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 357.2% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 918 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $83,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 70.0% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,223 shares of the company's stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 1,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1,819.2% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,992 shares of the company's stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 3,784 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APLS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wedbush cut their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America downgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $41.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $40.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.77, for a total transaction of $93,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 133,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,510,112.10. The trade was a 3.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.50% of the company's stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $17.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,092,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,341,064. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $18.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.62. The company has a current ratio of 4.08, a quick ratio of 3.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $16.10 and a one year high of $42.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.88 and a beta of 0.68.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.74) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.36) by ($0.38). Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 28.83% and a negative return on equity of 99.19%. The business had revenue of $149.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.61 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.54) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Apellis Pharmaceuticals

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).