HighVista Strategies LLC Buys 28,409 Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)

HighVista Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) by 375.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 35,975 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,409 shares during the period. HighVista Strategies LLC’s holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,038,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Braidwell LP grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 410.8% in the 3rd quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 3,125,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,130,000 after purchasing an additional 2,513,383 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 191.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,144,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,845,000 after purchasing an additional 1,409,707 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 47.7% in the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 1,401,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,750,000 after purchasing an additional 452,753 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 956,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,581,000 after purchasing an additional 9,328 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 345,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,242,000 after acquiring an additional 22,273 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. HC Wainwright dropped their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $83.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $61.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.94.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APLS opened at $35.42 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $4.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.45 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $28.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.20. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.34 and a 52-week high of $73.80.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.46) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.32) by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $196.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $200.00 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 34.97% and a negative return on equity of 103.11%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted ($1.17) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director A. Sinclair Dunlop sold 37,000 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total value of $1,340,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,623,000. This trade represents a 27.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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).