Fox Run Management L.L.C. Takes Position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $APLS

Key Points

• Fox Run Management L.L.C. has acquired 15,712 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., valued at approximately $344,000, during the first quarter, contributing to a continuous increase in institutional investment in the company.
• Analysts have adjusted their price targets for Apellis Pharmaceuticals, with estimates ranging from $19.00 to $50.00, reflecting a consensus average price target of $34.12 and a general rating of "Moderate Buy."
• In insider trading news, both General Counsel David O. Watson and CEO Cedric Francois sold significant amounts of company stock, indicating a reduction in their ownership stakes, with total insider sales exceeding $3.5 million over the last 90 days.

Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 15,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $344,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 16.7% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 54,444 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 7,777 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 882,801 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,170,000 after purchasing an additional 22,507 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 147.8% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 74,325 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,625,000 after purchasing an additional 44,332 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 212,887 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,793,000 after purchasing an additional 21,822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1,795.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 9,695 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, 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 transaction of $2,775,418.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 343,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,933,912.27. The trade was a 28.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total value of $139,000.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 123,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,439,694. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 174,090 shares of company stock valued at $3,542,832. Insiders own 6.50% of the company's stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

APLS stock traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.97. The company had a trading volume of 1,823,727 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,146,253. The company has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.37 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $20.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.37. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.10 and a 1-year high of $41.94. 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 (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported ($0.33) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.44) by $0.11. The business had revenue of $171.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $187.91 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 116.09% and a negative net margin of 30.24%.Apellis Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.30) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on APLS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Bank of America lifted their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. One investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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).