Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Shares Sold by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc decreased its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,097 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,900 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned 0.06% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals worth $2,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,778,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,748,000 after buying an additional 30,867 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,117,000. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $403,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 101.2% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 54,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,744,000 after buying an additional 27,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1,388.4% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 744,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,747,000 after purchasing an additional 694,194 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $44.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $28.00 to $20.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wedbush dropped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.42.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.0%

NASDAQ:APLS opened at $16.36 on Friday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $20.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.77. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.10 and a 52 week high of $43.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.06 and a beta of 0.73.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last released 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). Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 103.11% and a negative net margin of 34.97%. The firm had revenue of $149.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.61 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.54) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.10, for a total transaction of $139,781.90. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 138,730 shares in the company, valued at $3,482,123. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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).