Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Position Lifted by Avoro Capital Advisors LLC

Avoro Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,222,222 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,111,111 shares during the period. Apellis Pharmaceuticals comprises 5.5% of Avoro Capital Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 9.83% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals worth $390,011,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2,707.1% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 786 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 758 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 357.2% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 70.0% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,223 shares of the company's stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,327 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of 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. lifted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 89.0% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,107 shares of the company's stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 2,876 shares during the period. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

APLS stock traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $17.49. The stock had a trading volume of 2,870,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,162,011. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.72. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.99 and a 52-week high of $50.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 3.73 and a current ratio of 4.36. The stock has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of -8.62 and a beta of 0.85.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.37) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $212.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.92 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 34.97% and a negative return on equity of 103.11%. Apellis Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 45.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.73) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APLS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Wedbush lowered their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $45.35.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,569 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 138,730 shares in the company, valued at $3,482,123. The trade was a 3.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 2,824 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total value of $83,364.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 415,695 shares in the company, valued at $12,271,316.40. This trade represents a 0.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,005 shares of company stock worth $299,037 over the last quarter. 6.80% of the stock is currently 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).