Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $APLS

Key Points

• Vanguard Group increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, ending with 10.67 million shares worth about $268.2 million and owning 8.44% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Apellis has a consensus Hold rating with a $35.72 average price target, even after several firms adjusted their targets and ratings.
• Apellis reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting $0.15 EPS versus an expected loss and revenue of $268.3 million, while its shares recently traded near a 52-week high of $41.14.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,674,865 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 687,471 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 8.44% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals worth $268,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,883 shares of the company's stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 468 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 8,674 shares of the company's stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 64.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,194 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 857 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,148 shares of the company's stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 1,266 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 50,358 shares of the company's stock worth $872,000 after buying an additional 1,353 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $41.00 price target (up from $37.00) on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Wedbush reduced their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $35.72.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $41.03 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.70, a current ratio of 3.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.23 and a beta of -0.24. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $30.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.59. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.10 and a 52-week high of $41.14.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.38) by $0.53. The company had revenue of $268.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $206.61 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 12.06% and a return on equity of 43.10%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Profile

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc, traded as NASDAQ:APLS, is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies targeting the complement cascade for the treatment of rare and debilitating diseases. The company's research and development efforts center on modulating complement proteins to address a range of ophthalmologic, hematologic and renal conditions. Apellis leverages its proprietary compstatin technology platform to design targeted inhibitors intended to improve patient outcomes and quality of life.

The company's lead marketed product, Syfovre (pegcetacoplan), is an intravitreal complement C3 inhibitor approved for geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration, with ongoing investigations in other retinal disorders.

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