Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $APLS Stock Position Cut by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. lessened its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) by 70.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 159,054 shares of the company’s stock after selling 380,548 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in 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 buying an additional 1,221 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. grew its position in 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 buying an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 89.0% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 2,876 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 32.8% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 9,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 2,359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $223,000. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

APLS stock opened at $27.97 on Friday. 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 one year low of $16.10 and a one year high of $41.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of -15.37 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $20.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.44.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported ($0.33) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $187.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.30) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on APLS shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 19,725 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.21, for a total value of $398,642.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 331,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,701,737.05. This represents a 5.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total transaction of $139,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 123,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,439,694. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 174,090 shares of company stock valued at $3,542,832 over the last three months. 6.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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).