Cwm LLC Increases Holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $APLS

Key Points

• Cwm LLC increased its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 29.8% during Q2, owning 127,584 shares worth approximately $2.21 million.
• Institutional investors own 96.29% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, indicating a strong interest from large funds, with several firms significantly increasing their positions in the first quarter.
• Apellis Pharmaceuticals' stock received mixed ratings from analysts, with an average target price of $33.47 and a consensus rating of "Hold."

Cwm LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) by 29.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 127,584 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 29,326 shares during the period. Cwm LLC owned 0.10% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals worth $2,208,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in APLS. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 119.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,077,419 shares of the company's stock worth $89,173,000 after purchasing an additional 2,220,977 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2,879.3% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,048,700 shares of the company's stock worth $22,935,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013,500 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $10,765,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $5,809,000. Finally, ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $4,028,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on APLS. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.47.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ APLS opened at $24.52 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.77, a quick ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90. The business's 50 day moving average is $25.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.17. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.10 and a 12-month high of $35.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.47 and a beta of 0.69.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported ($0.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by $0.11. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 116.09% and a negative net margin of 30.24%.The company had revenue of $171.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $187.91 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.30) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, Director A. Sinclair Dunlop sold 31,092 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.72, for a total transaction of $737,502.24. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,837 shares in the company, valued at approximately $91,013.64. The trade was a 89.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.22, for a total value of $126,100.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 113,730 shares in the company, valued at $2,868,270.60. The trade was a 4.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 302,921 shares of company stock worth $8,210,566. Company insiders own 6.50% of the company's stock.

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).

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