JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 181,285 Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $APLS

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its Apellis stake by 77.2%, selling 181,285 shares and leaving 53,516 shares worth about $1.21 million after the 3rd quarter.
• Apellis reported $0.47 EPS and $199.9M in revenue for the quarter, topping estimates, but revenue fell 5.9% year‑over‑year and the stock trades at a high PE (≈312) with a ~$5.2B market cap.
• Insiders have sold 115,537 shares in the past 90 days (including the CEO and general counsel), and analysts hold a consensus Hold rating with an average target price of $34.11 despite some firms raising targets to $41.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) by 77.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 53,516 shares of the company's stock after selling 181,285 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 206.8% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,037 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,373 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 141.2% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,682 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,570 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 64.1% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,194 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $64,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 338.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,429 shares of the company's stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 4,191 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:APLS opened at $40.65 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a PE ratio of 312.72 and a beta of -0.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 3.14 and a quick ratio of 2.70. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $23.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.42. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.10 and a 1 year high of $40.77.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.39) by $0.86. The firm had revenue of $199.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.28 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 8.20% and a net margin of 2.23%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.29) EPS. Analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho upped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wedbush decreased their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Roth Mkm lowered shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $34.11.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 7,832 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $170,502.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 88,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,927,319.87. This represents a 8.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 27,192 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $591,969.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 286,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,227,199.65. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 115,537 shares of company stock worth $2,486,082. 6.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc, traded as NASDAQ:APLS, is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies targeting the complement cascade for the treatment of rare and debilitating diseases. The company's research and development efforts center on modulating complement proteins to address a range of ophthalmologic, hematologic and renal conditions. Apellis leverages its proprietary compstatin technology platform to design targeted inhibitors intended to improve patient outcomes and quality of life.

The company's lead marketed product, Syfovre (pegcetacoplan), is an intravitreal complement C3 inhibitor approved for geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration, with ongoing investigations in other retinal disorders.

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