Fox Run Management L.L.C. Takes $344,000 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 position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 15,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $344,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 16.7% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 54,444 shares of the company's stock worth $1,191,000 after buying an additional 7,777 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 882,801 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,170,000 after acquiring 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 first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 74,325 shares of the company's stock worth $1,625,000 after acquiring an additional 44,332 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 212,887 shares of the company's stock worth $6,793,000 after purchasing an additional 21,822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1,795.4% in 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.29% of the company's stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.45 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $27.52. The company had a trading volume of 1,265,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,090,504. The firm has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a PE ratio of -15.12 and a beta of 0.78. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $16.10 and a one 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. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.30.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $187.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.30) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 19,725 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.21, for a total value of $398,642.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 331,605 shares in the company, valued at $6,701,737.05. This represents a 5.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total transaction of $139,000.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 174,090 shares of company stock worth $3,542,832. Insiders own 6.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APLS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 note on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective 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. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective 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. Scotiabank dropped their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. One investment 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.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.12.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Company 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).