Northern Trust Corp Increases Holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)

Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) by 20.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 547,276 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 94,174 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.44% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals worth $17,464,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in APLS. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2,707.1% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 786 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 357.2% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 70.0% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,223 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,327 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1,819.2% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,992 shares of the company's stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 3,784 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 89.0% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 2,876 shares during the period. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

APLS stock traded up $1.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $17.45. The company had a trading volume of 5,275,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,252,420. The company has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.60 and a beta of 0.73. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.10 and a 12-month high of $43.99. The company has a quick ratio of 3.73, a current ratio of 4.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $20.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.70.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.74) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.36) by ($0.38). The company had revenue of $149.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $197.61 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 103.11% and a negative net margin of 34.97%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.54) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on APLS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wedbush cut their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America downgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $41.00 to $23.00 in a report on Friday, May 9th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $28.00 to $20.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $44.00 target price for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $40.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,569 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.10, for a total transaction of $139,781.90. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 138,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,482,123. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.50% of the company's stock.

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).