Royal Bank of Canada Grows Stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)

Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) by 969.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,518,827 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,376,832 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 1.22% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals worth $48,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 241,474 shares of the company's stock worth $7,705,000 after purchasing an additional 37,328 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $40,461,000. Point72 Europe London LLP bought a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $6,149,000. Polar Capital Holdings Plc lifted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 45.8% during the fourth quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 1,577,175 shares of the company's stock worth $50,328,000 after purchasing an additional 495,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc lifted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 194.4% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 49,292 shares of the company's stock worth $1,573,000 after purchasing an additional 32,550 shares during the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,569 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.10, for a total value of $139,781.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 138,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,482,123. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on APLS shares. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $44.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $39.89.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:APLS traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $17.44. The company had a trading volume of 1,293,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,266,992. The company has a current ratio of 4.36, a quick ratio of 3.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The firm has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.59 and a beta of 0.73. The company's 50-day moving average price is $19.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.34. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $16.10 and a one year high of $43.76.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.74) EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $197.61 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 103.11% and a negative net margin of 34.97%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.54) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS 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).