ING Groep NV Purchases New Position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)

Key Points

• ING Groep NV acquired a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, purchasing 184,200 shares valued at approximately $4.03 million.
• Institutional investors own about 96.29% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, indicating significant institutional interest in the company.
• Apellis reported quarterly earnings with a loss of ($0.33) EPS, exceeding analysts' estimates but showing a 10.6% year-over-year revenue decline.

ING Groep NV bought a new stake in 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 bought 184,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,028,000. ING Groep NV owned 0.15% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in APLS. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,838,952 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,699,000 after buying an additional 28,426 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $318,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 89.0% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,107 shares of the company's stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 2,876 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 46,667 shares of the company's stock worth $1,478,000 after acquiring an additional 15,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 105.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 80,991 shares of the company's stock worth $2,584,000 after acquiring an additional 41,635 shares during the period. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of APLS stock traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $24.33. 2,599,492 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,861,698. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.10 and a 12-month high of $41.94. The company has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of -13.37 and a beta of 0.78. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $19.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.68. 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 the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $171.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $187.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.30) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total transaction of $97,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 128,730 shares in the company, valued at $2,516,671.50. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 137,465 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.19, for a total value of $2,775,418.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 343,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,933,912.27. The trade was a 28.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 169,090 shares of company stock worth $3,403,832. Company insiders own 6.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on APLS. Wall Street Zen upgraded Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.83.

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).