Jennison Associates LLC Reduces Stock Position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)

Jennison Associates LLC lowered its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) by 10.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,477,531 shares of the company's stock after selling 282,873 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned 1.97% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals worth $54,184,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $1,564,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $430,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 357.2% in the 4th 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. Finally, Xponance Inc. increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,072 shares of the company's stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 749 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on APLS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $28.00 to $20.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $44.00 price target for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.00.

Insider Activity at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 137,465 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total value of $97,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 128,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,516,671.50. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 169,090 shares of company stock worth $3,403,832 over the last three months. Insiders own 6.80% of the company's stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of APLS traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $19.89. The stock had a trading volume of 1,883,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,373,203. The company has a current ratio of 4.08, a quick ratio of 3.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.40. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.10 and a 12 month high of $41.94. The company has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.11 and a beta of 0.67.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.74) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.36) by ($0.38). The company had revenue of $149.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $197.61 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 28.83% and a negative return on equity of 99.19%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.54) EPS. Equities research analysts predict 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).