Trexquant Investment LP Purchases New Shares in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)

Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 203,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,478,000. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.16% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,046,025 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,569,000 after acquiring an additional 230,450 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 735,160 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 51.6% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,760,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,084,000 after buying an additional 939,289 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,838,952 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,699,000 after buying an additional 28,426 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 266,361.5% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,385,600 shares of the company's stock worth $44,214,000 after acquiring an additional 1,385,080 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of APLS traded down $1.78 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $17.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 548,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,116,736. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $17.48 and a one year high of $57.85. The stock's 50-day moving average is $25.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of -8.71 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.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $212.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $197.92 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.73) EPS. The business's revenue was up 45.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO James George Chopas sold 1,096 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.43, for a total transaction of $33,351.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 48,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,464,839.34. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 3,323 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.43, for a total value of $101,118.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 144,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,412,167.42. The trade was a 2.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on APLS. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Eight equities 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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).