Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases New Stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)

Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 7,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $254,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 42.2% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 134,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,161,000 after buying an additional 39,931 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 5.4% in the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 6,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 7.6% in the second quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 13,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,350,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 146.0% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 24,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $944,000 after purchasing an additional 14,601 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of APLS stock opened at $30.00 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of -14.78 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s fifty day moving average is $32.08 and its 200-day moving average is $33.15. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.34 and a 1 year high of $71.90.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.46) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by ($0.14). Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 103.11% and a negative net margin of 34.97%. The business had revenue of $196.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $200.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.17) earnings per share. Apellis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $43.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.71.

Insider Activity at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 6,247 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.70, for a total value of $179,288.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 307,415 shares in the company, valued at $8,822,810.50. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO James George Chopas sold 1,096 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.43, for a total value of $33,351.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 48,138 shares in the company, valued at $1,464,839.34. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,112 shares of company stock valued at $1,655,767 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Company 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).