Ameriprise Financial Inc. Raises Stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 882,801 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,507 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc.’s holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals were worth $28,170,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of APLS. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2,707.1% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 786 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 357.2% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 70.0% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1,819.2% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 3,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 89.0% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 2,876 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Scotiabank decreased 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 research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $41.00 to $23.00 in a report on Friday, May 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.37.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ APLS opened at $17.28 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 3.73 and a current ratio of 4.36. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $16.65 and a one year high of $43.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of -8.51 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Insider Activity at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.10, for a total value 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 trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 6.50% of the company’s stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals 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).