Bayforest Capital Ltd Boosts Holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $APLS

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd significantly increased its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 431.9%, now owning 52,338 shares valued at approximately $1.14 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Northern Trust Corp and Bank of America Corp DE, also raised their positions in Apellis, indicating strong institutional support for the stock.
• Insider trading activity includes CEO Cedric Francois selling 49,963 shares, reflecting a 13.96% decrease in his position, totaling nearly $1.42 million in the transaction.

Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) by 431.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,338 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 42,499 shares during the period. Apellis Pharmaceuticals makes up 0.5% of Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,145,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 175,037 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.19, for a total transaction of $4,934,293.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 357,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,089,454.71. This trade represents a 32.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total transaction of $139,000.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 123,730 shares in the company, valued at $3,439,694. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 399,638 shares of company stock worth $9,910,962 over the last three months. 6.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $24.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,690,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,977,582. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $16.10 and a one year high of $38.55. The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.65 and a beta of 0.73. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $23.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 3.16 and a current ratio of 3.77.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported ($0.33) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.44) by $0.11. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.24% and a negative return on equity of 116.09%. The firm had revenue of $171.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $187.91 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.30) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on APLS shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.12.

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).