GSA Capital Partners LLP Takes Position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $APLS

GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 31,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $712,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 207.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 29,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 19,944 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 26.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 307,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,730,000 after acquiring an additional 64,742 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 222,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,869,000 after acquiring an additional 9,747 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 118.4% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 21,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 11,862 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1,146.2% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 23,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,000 after acquiring an additional 22,052 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 7,832 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $170,502.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 88,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,927,319.87. This trade represents a 8.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 27,192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $591,969.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 286,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,227,199.65. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 120,537 shares of company stock worth $2,608,532 in the last quarter. 6.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.3%

Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $22.28 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 3.10 and a current ratio of 3.54. The company has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 71.87 and a beta of 0.26. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.10 and a fifty-two week high of $30.48.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 15th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.00.

About Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc, traded as NASDAQ:APLS, is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies targeting the complement cascade for the treatment of rare and debilitating diseases. The company’s research and development efforts center on modulating complement proteins to address a range of ophthalmologic, hematologic and renal conditions. Apellis leverages its proprietary compstatin technology platform to design targeted inhibitors intended to improve patient outcomes and quality of life.

The company’s lead marketed product, Syfovre (pegcetacoplan), is an intravitreal complement C3 inhibitor approved for geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration, with ongoing investigations in other retinal disorders.