Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Makes New $353,000 Investment in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH has acquired a new stake of 16,159 shares in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, valued at approximately $353,000, according to their latest SEC filing.
• Several hedge funds, including GF Fund Management and Covestor Ltd, significantly increased their positions in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the first and fourth quarters, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Apellis Pharmaceuticals, with a consensus price target of $37.78 and ten analysts issuing a buy rating, while others suggest caution with reduced price targets.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 16,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $353,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. boosted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 21.9% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1,819.2% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,992 shares of the company's stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 3,784 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 89.0% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 2,876 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $223,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1,795.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 9,695 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 137,465 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.19, for a total transaction of $2,775,418.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,933,912.27. The trade was a 28.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total value of $97,750.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 128,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,516,671.50. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 169,090 shares of company stock worth $3,403,832 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.50% of the company's stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.9%

APLS stock traded down $0.47 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $23.73. 2,087,617 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,920,004. The firm's 50 day moving average is $19.04 and its 200 day moving average is $21.71. The firm has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.04 and a beta of 0.78. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.10 and a twelve month high of $41.94.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $187.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.30) earnings per share. Apellis Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on APLS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup increased their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.83.

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).