Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Has $2.89 Million Stock Position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $APLS

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. significantly increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 878.6%, now owning 131,895 shares valued at approximately $2.88 million.
• Insider selling included CEO Cedric Francois reducing his holdings by 28.59% after selling 137,465 shares at an average price of $20.19.
• Apellis Pharmaceuticals' stock price target was raised by analysts from Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and others, with an average target of $34.12 and a rating of "Moderate Buy."

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) by 878.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 131,895 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 118,417 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.10% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals worth $2,885,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. raised its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 21.9% in the first quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 3,185 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 189,477 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,046,000 after purchasing an additional 913 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3,938.7% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,252 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 14.4% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 16,097 shares of the company's stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 2,025 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company's stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

APLS traded down $0.45 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $26.90. 385,473 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,304,008. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.10 and a fifty-two week high of $41.94. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $20.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.37. The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.79 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals 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 transaction, the general counsel directly owned 128,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,516,671.50. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 137,465 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,933,912.27. This represents a 28.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 169,090 shares of company stock valued at $3,403,832 over the last ninety days. 6.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on APLS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $28.00 to $20.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.12.

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).