Rafferty Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) by 18.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 241,474 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 37,328 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals worth $7,705,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Boxer Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $45,504,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 266,361.5% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,385,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,385,080 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,014,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $40,461,000. Finally, Avoro Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,222,222 shares of the company's stock valued at $390,011,000 after buying an additional 1,111,111 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,569 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,482,123. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 6.50% of the company's stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

APLS stock traded down $0.45 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $17.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 320,987 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,257,982. The stock has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.53 and a beta of 0.73. 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's 50-day moving average price is $19.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.43. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.10 and a 1 year high of $43.76.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.36) by ($0.38). The company had revenue of $149.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $197.61 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 103.11% and a negative net margin of 34.97%. Apellis Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.54) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APLS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $49.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $39.89.

About Apellis Pharmaceuticals

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).