Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 61,340 Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $APLS

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 25.4%, selling 61,340 shares and now owning 180,134 shares valued at approximately $3.94 million.
• Apellis Pharmaceuticals' stock has experienced a recent 1.7% decline, with shares trading at $27.57, having a market capitalization of $3.48 billion.
• Multiple analysts have upgraded their price targets for Apellis Pharmaceuticals, with a general consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $34.12.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) by 25.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 180,134 shares of the company's stock after selling 61,340 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned about 0.14% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals worth $3,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in APLS. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $1,564,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 25,645 shares of the company's stock worth $818,000 after buying an additional 8,344 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 123,151 shares of the company's stock worth $3,930,000 after buying an additional 35,185 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $268,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 547,276 shares of the company's stock worth $17,464,000 after buying an additional 94,174 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total value of $139,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 123,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,439,694. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 49,963 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.39, for a total value of $1,418,449.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 307,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,742,586.94. This represents 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. Company insiders own 6.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $28.00 to $20.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. One equities 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 an average target price of $34.12.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 3.1%

APLS stock traded up $0.85 during trading on Thursday, hitting $28.65. 1,907,927 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,086,589. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of -15.74 and a beta of 0.73. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.10 and a 1 year high of $41.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $22.75 and a 200-day moving average of $21.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 3.16 and a current ratio of 3.77.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported ($0.33) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by $0.11. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 116.09% and a negative net margin of 30.24%.The company had revenue of $171.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $187.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.30) EPS. Apellis Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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).