KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes $504,000 Position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 15,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $504,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,884,730 shares of the company's stock valued at $112,036,000 after acquiring an additional 735,160 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 51.6% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,760,404 shares of the company's stock worth $88,084,000 after purchasing an additional 939,289 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,810,526 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,229,000 after purchasing an additional 22,609 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,014,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 996,748 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,806,000 after buying an additional 40,386 shares during the period. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APLS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.59.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 2,824 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total value of $83,364.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 415,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,271,316.40. This represents a 0.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 4,965 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.70, for a total value of $142,495.50. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 107,756 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,092,597.20. This represents a 4.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 63,238 shares of company stock worth $1,857,510 over the last three months. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

APLS traded down $1.10 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $18.70. The stock had a trading volume of 4,159,886 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,114,457. The firm has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of -9.21 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 4.36, a quick ratio of 3.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.21 and a 12 month high of $57.85. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.67.

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

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).