Jennison Associates LLC Purchases 939,289 Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)

Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) by 51.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,760,404 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 939,289 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 2.22% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals worth $88,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $56,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 13,551 shares of the firm’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 $412,356.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 418,519 shares in the company, valued at $12,735,533.17. This trade represents a 3.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Caroline Baumal sold 2,816 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.81, for a total transaction of $95,208.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 55,560 shares in the company, valued at $1,878,483.60. This trade represents a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 60,002 shares of company stock valued at $1,800,119 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on APLS shares. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. William Blair started coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.71.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

APLS stock opened at $28.49 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.70. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.34 and a 52 week high of $71.90. The company has a quick ratio of 3.73, a current ratio of 4.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.03 and a beta of 0.94.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last released 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 company had revenue of $196.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $200.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($1.17) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 78.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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).