Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Shares Acquired by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) by 31.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,600 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,400 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. abrdn plc acquired a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $10,119,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 20,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,205,000 after acquiring an additional 6,102 shares during the period. Sippican Capital Advisors grew its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 16,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $958,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $2,483,000. Finally, HC Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $210,000. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ APLS opened at $49.86 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a PE ratio of -11.13 and a beta of 0.88. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.44. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.83 and a 1-year high of $94.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 3.10 and a quick ratio of 2.50.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.73) EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.73). Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 178.60% and a negative net margin of 133.34%. The firm had revenue of $146.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $143.34 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($1.50) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 545.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on APLS. Wedbush dropped their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $57.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. UBS Group increased their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Raymond James increased their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.93.

Insider Activity at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 1,431 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.77, for a total value of $96,978.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 93,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,325,516.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 1,431 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.77, for a total transaction of $96,978.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 93,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,325,516.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 906 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.14, for a total value of $58,110.84. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 104,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,681,527.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 381,011 shares of company stock valued at $23,463,657. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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).