Norges Bank Takes Position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,086,243 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,662,000. Norges Bank owned 0.87% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,884,730 shares of the company's stock worth $112,036,000 after acquiring an additional 735,160 shares during the period. Old West Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $2,953,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 21,649 shares of the company's stock worth $691,000 after acquiring an additional 1,864 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3,862.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 104,287 shares of the company's stock worth $3,328,000 after buying an additional 101,655 shares during the period. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $445,000. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of APLS stock traded down $1.38 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $18.23. 215,548 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,957,146. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.98 and a beta of 0.85. 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $25.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.52. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.72 and a 52 week high of $57.85.

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

Insider Activity at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 3,323 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.43, for a total transaction of $101,118.89. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 144,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,412,167.42. The trade was a 2.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 2,170 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.70, for a total transaction of $62,279.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,100 shares in the company, valued at $2,528,470. The trade was a 2.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 63,238 shares of company stock worth $1,857,510 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Wedbush decreased their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $45.59.

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).