E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Trims Stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. cut its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) by 30.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,657 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,341 shares during the quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals were worth $458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 904,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,138,000 after purchasing an additional 25,052 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp acquired a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $280,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 22,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,353,000 after acquiring an additional 5,400 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc acquired a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $10,119,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 20,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 6,102 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:APLS traded up $0.22 during trading on Thursday, reaching $42.52. 1,052,714 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,574,096. The firm has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a PE ratio of -12.29 and a beta of 0.97. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.83 and a fifty-two week high of $94.75. The company has a quick ratio of 2.50, a current ratio of 3.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.42.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.54) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.54). Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 178.60% and a negative net margin of 133.34%. The business had revenue of $172.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $163.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($1.56) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 284.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on APLS. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, February 5th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Adam J. Townsend sold 1,148 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals 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 $77,799.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,265,539.81. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 1,431 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,325,516.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Adam J. Townsend sold 1,148 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.77, for a total value of $77,799.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,265,539.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 376,427 shares of company stock valued at $23,169,639 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.50% 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).