Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Has $6.73 Million Stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $APLS

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 26.6%, acquiring an additional 64,742 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 307,709 shares valued at $6.73 million.
• Apellis Pharmaceuticals reported an earnings per share of ($0.33) for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, but its quarterly revenue decreased by 10.6% compared to the same period last year.
• Insider transactions included CEO Cedric Francois selling 175,037 shares valued at nearly $4.93 million, reducing his ownership by 32.84%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) by 26.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 307,709 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 64,742 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.24% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals worth $6,730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in APLS. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 119.6% during the 1st 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 during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 969.6% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,518,827 shares of the company's stock worth $48,465,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376,832 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2,879.3% during the 1st 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 during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3,791.4% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 997,053 shares of the company's stock worth $31,816,000 after purchasing an additional 971,431 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth $10,765,000. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on APLS shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $34.12.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

APLS stock traded down $0.40 during trading on Friday, hitting $22.98. 431,053 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,278,103. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $16.10 and a one year high of $35.72. The stock has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.63 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.28. The company has a current ratio of 3.77, a quick ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.34, for a total value of $121,700.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 118,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,888.20. This represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 175,037 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.19, for a total transaction of $4,934,293.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 357,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,089,454.71. This represents a 32.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 399,827 shares of company stock valued at $9,943,384. 6.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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).