Nuveen LLC Buys Shares of 492,238 Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $APLS

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC invested approximately $10.77 million in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, purchasing 492,238 shares to own about 0.39% of the company.
• Institutional ownership of Apellis Pharmaceuticals is notably high, with approximately 96.29% of the stock held by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Apellis reported earnings of ($0.33) EPS, beating analysts' expectations, but experienced a 10.6% decline in revenue year-over-year.

Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 492,238 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,765,000. Nuveen LLC owned 0.39% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of APLS. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3,938.7% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,252 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 21.9% in the first quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 3,185 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 89.0% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 2,876 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 32.8% in the first quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 9,554 shares of the company's stock valued at $209,000 after acquiring an additional 2,359 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $223,000. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on APLS shares. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $28.00 to $20.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $34.12.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total value of $139,000.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 123,730 shares in the company, valued at $3,439,694. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 137,465 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.19, for a total value of $2,775,418.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 343,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,933,912.27. This represents a 28.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 174,090 shares of company stock worth $3,542,832. 6.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.6%

Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $28.05. The stock had a trading volume of 1,071,714 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,729,061. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of -15.41 and a beta of 0.78. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.10 and a 12 month high of $41.94. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by $0.11. The business had revenue of $171.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $187.91 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 116.09% and a negative net margin of 30.24%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.30) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

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).