Nuveen Asset Management LLC Grows Position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) by 44.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 491,107 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 150,384 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 0.39% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals worth $15,671,000 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 stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578 shares during the period. Integral Health Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,402,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 345,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,009,000 after purchasing an additional 85,000 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $775,000. Finally, Granahan Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 154,418 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,927,000 after purchasing an additional 3,840 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.29% of the company's stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:APLS traded down $0.09 on Wednesday, hitting $16.80. 2,786,827 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,267,815. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.10 and a 52 week high of $43.76. The company has a quick ratio of 3.73, a current ratio of 4.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.17. The company has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a PE ratio of -8.28 and a beta of 0.73.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.74) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.36) by ($0.38). Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 34.97% and a negative return on equity of 103.11%. The company had revenue of $149.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.61 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.54) earnings per share. Apellis Pharmaceuticals's revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,569 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.10, for a total transaction of $139,781.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 138,730 shares in the company, valued at $3,482,123. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $28.00 to $20.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Bank of America lowered Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $41.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $49.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $39.89.

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).