Cerity Partners LLC Boosts Position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) by 48.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 46,667 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,286 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2,707.1% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 786 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 357.2% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 918 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 70.0% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 1,327 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 89.0% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 2,876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $216,000. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APLS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Scotiabank upped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wedbush decreased their price objective 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. 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 data from MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.59.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $18.20 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.97 and a beta of 0.85. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $17.49 and a one year high of $50.98. The business has a fifty day moving average of $23.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.07. 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) last released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $212.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.92 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 103.11% and a negative net margin of 34.97%. The company’s revenue was up 45.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.73) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 13,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.43, for a total transaction of $412,356.93. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 418,519 shares in the company, valued at $12,735,533.17. This represents a 3.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,011 shares of company stock worth $1,059,969 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

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).