30,191 Shares in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $APLS Bought by Voleon Capital Management LP

Key Points

• Voleon Capital Management LP has established a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, acquiring 30,191 shares valued at approximately $660,000 during the first quarter.
• Insider selling included General Counsel David O. Watson selling 5,000 shares and CEO Cedric Francois selling 49,963 shares, indicating significant transactions by top executives.
• The stock has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion and is currently trading around $26.84, following a recent performance that includes a negative return on equity of 116.09% for the quarter.

Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 30,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $660,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in APLS. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3,938.7% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,252 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,221 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 21.9% in 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 during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 32.8% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 9,554 shares of the company's stock valued at $209,000 after acquiring an additional 2,359 shares during the period. Kaufman Rossin Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $223,000. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.6%

NASDAQ APLS traded down $0.65 on Monday, hitting $24.20. 624,355 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,270,601. The company has a quick ratio of 3.16, a current ratio of 3.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.10 and a fifty-two week high of $37.83. The company has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of -13.30 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $23.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.26.

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

Insider Activity at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total transaction of $139,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 123,730 shares in the company, valued at $3,439,694. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 175,037 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.19, for a total transaction of $4,934,293.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 357,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,089,454.71. This trade represents a 32.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 394,638 shares of company stock valued at $9,817,112 in the last quarter. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APLS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $34.12.

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).