Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Takes $363,000 Position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $APLS

Key Points

• Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC has invested approximately $363,000 in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by acquiring 16,567 shares during the first quarter.
• Multiple large investors such as Assetmark Inc. and Legacy Capital Group California Inc. have also significantly increased their positions in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the same quarter.
• Analyst ratings for Apellis Pharmaceutical are mixed, with price targets ranging widely, including a raise from $25 to $26 by Morgan Stanley and a raise to $46 by Citigroup.

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 16,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $363,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in APLS. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3,938.7% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,252 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,221 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. grew its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 21.9% during the 1st quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 3,185 shares of the company's stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. grew its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 32.8% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 9,554 shares of the company's stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 2,359 shares during the last quarter. Kaufman Rossin Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $209,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $223,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.29% of the company's stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APLS traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $24.85. 1,690,392 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,977,582. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 3.16. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $16.10 and a one year high of $38.55. The company's 50 day moving average is $23.78 and its 200 day moving average is $21.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.65 and a beta of 0.73.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $187.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.30) EPS. The business's revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total value of $139,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 123,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,439,694. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 49,963 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.39, for a total transaction of $1,418,449.57. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 307,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,742,586.94. This trade represents a 13.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 399,638 shares of company stock valued at $9,910,962. Insiders own 6.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APLS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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).