Octagon Capital Advisors LP Has $168.03 Million Stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)

Octagon Capital Advisors LP trimmed its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,806,980 shares of the company’s stock after selling 48,020 shares during the quarter. Apellis Pharmaceuticals accounts for 26.9% of Octagon Capital Advisors LP’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Octagon Capital Advisors LP owned approximately 2.37% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals worth $168,026,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 564.2% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $210,000. HC Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $210,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $221,000. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on APLS shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $57.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $89.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Wedbush decreased their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $57.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Four 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.38.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ APLS opened at $42.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.14 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 3.77, a quick ratio of 3.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $45.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.16. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.83 and a 1 year high of $92.61.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.54) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.54). Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 79.67% and a negative return on equity of 160.77%. The company had revenue of $172.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $163.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($1.56) EPS. Apellis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 284.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.15 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Mark Jeffrey Delong sold 9,913 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.90, for a total value of $564,049.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 54,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,112,031.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 69,107 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.17, for a total value of $3,743,526.19. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,115,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,452,799.11. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Mark Jeffrey Delong sold 9,913 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.90, for a total transaction of $564,049.70. Following the sale, the insider now owns 54,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,112,031.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 180,608 shares of company stock valued at $8,952,107 over the last 90 days. 6.80% 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).