Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 3,877 Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,008 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,877 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals were worth $260,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of APLS. HighVista Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC now owns 7,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank raised its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 5.4% in the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 6,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 78,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,021,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 781 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 20,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,179,000 after acquiring an additional 903 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APLS opened at $31.91 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.72 and a beta of 0.87. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.34 and a fifty-two week high of $73.80. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.56.

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). Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 34.97% and a negative return on equity of 103.11%. The company had revenue of $196.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $200.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.17) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director A. Sinclair Dunlop sold 37,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,623,000. The trade was a 27.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APLS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $92.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI upgraded Apellis Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.94.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals 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).