Northern Trust Corp Cuts Stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $APLS

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 5.2%, now holding 518,694 shares valued at approximately $11.34 million.
• Apellis Pharmaceuticals experienced a 3.1% increase in its stock price, with recent trading at $28.65, marking significant fluctuations over the past year.
• The company reported a negative Earnings Per Share (EPS) of $0.33 for the last quarter, which beat analyst expectations but still reflects ongoing financial challenges.

Northern Trust Corp lowered its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) by 5.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 518,694 shares of the company's stock after selling 28,582 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.41% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals worth $11,344,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Algert Global LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 20.0% in the first quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 338,613 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,405,000 after purchasing an additional 56,328 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $344,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 537.0% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 38,903 shares of the company's stock worth $851,000 after acquiring an additional 32,796 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $10,765,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $342,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.12.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

APLS stock traded down $0.80 on Wednesday, hitting $26.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,733,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,200,108. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $23.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.36. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.10 and a 1 year high of $39.51. The stock has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.31 and a beta of 0.73. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported ($0.33) EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $171.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $187.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.30) EPS. Apellis Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the company'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 owned 123,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,439,694. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 49,963 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.39, for a total transaction of $1,418,449.57. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 307,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,742,586.94. The trade was a 13.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 399,638 shares of company stock valued at $9,910,962. 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).