Virtu Financial LLC Has $228,000 Position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)

Virtu Financial LLC cut its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) by 47.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,157 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,369 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals were worth $228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in APLS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,884,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,036,000 after buying an additional 735,160 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 52.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 159,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,606,000 after purchasing an additional 55,282 shares during the period. Old West Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,953,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3,862.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 104,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,328,000 after purchasing an additional 101,655 shares during the period. Finally, HighVista Strategies LLC increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 375.5% during the 3rd quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC now owns 35,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 28,409 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.0 %

NASDAQ APLS opened at $24.27 on Friday. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.25 and a 12 month high of $59.91. The company has a current ratio of 4.36, a quick ratio of 3.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.04 and a 200-day moving average of $29.59. The company has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of -11.96 and a beta of 0.92.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.37) by $0.08. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 34.97% and a negative return on equity of 103.11%. The firm had revenue of $212.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.92 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.73) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 45.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on APLS shares. Wedbush cut their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.53.

Insider Activity at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 6,247 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 307,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,822,810.50. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Caroline Baumal sold 2,816 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.81, for a total transaction of $95,208.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 55,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,878,483.60. This trade represents a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 66,054 shares of company stock worth $1,952,719. 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).