Nuveen LLC Invests $10.77 Million in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $APLS

Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 492,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,765,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.39% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 54,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,191,000 after buying an additional 7,777 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 882,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,170,000 after buying an additional 22,507 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 147.8% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 74,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,625,000 after buying an additional 44,332 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 212,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,793,000 after buying an additional 21,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1,795.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 9,695 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of APLS stock opened at $27.97 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.37 and a beta of 0.78. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.10 and a 12 month high of $41.94. The company has a quick ratio of 3.16, a current ratio of 3.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $20.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.44.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported ($0.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by $0.11. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.24% and a negative return on equity of 116.09%. The company had revenue of $171.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $187.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.30) EPS. The company’s revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 137,465 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.19, for a total transaction of $2,775,418.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 343,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,933,912.27. The trade was a 28.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total transaction of $139,000.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 123,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,439,694. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 174,090 shares of company stock worth $3,542,832. Insiders own 6.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APLS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.12.

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).