Merit Financial Group LLC Buys 25,806 Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) by 324.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,762 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 25,806 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals were worth $738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2,707.1% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 786 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 918 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $83,000. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 70.0% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,223 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1,819.2% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,992 shares of the company's stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 3,784 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company's stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:APLS traded down $0.01 during trading on Thursday, hitting $19.26. 1,302,533 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,328,857. The company has a quick ratio of 3.73, a current ratio of 4.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The company has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.49 and a beta of 0.68. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.10 and a 1-year high of $43.76. The business's 50 day moving average is $18.32 and its 200-day moving average is $25.44.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.74) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.36) by ($0.38). The firm had revenue of $149.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.61 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 34.97% and a negative return on equity of 103.11%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.54) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $28.00 to $20.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wedbush decreased their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $40.05.

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).