Readystate Asset Management LP Acquires Shares of 241,977 Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $APLS

Readystate Asset Management LP bought a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 241,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,476,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Simplify Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,419,000. Corton Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $364,000. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. grew its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 48.0% in the third quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 155,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,517,000 after purchasing an additional 50,375 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $1,135,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 91.9% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 485,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,406,000 after purchasing an additional 232,506 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 10,287 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total value of $223,947.99. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 93,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,044,224.77. This trade represents a 9.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 5,928 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $129,052.56. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,151,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,065,586.14. The trade was a 0.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 120,537 shares of company stock valued at $2,608,532. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on APLS. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 29th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.00.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ APLS opened at $21.57 on Wednesday. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.10 and a fifty-two week high of $30.48. 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 $2.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.58 and a beta of 0.26. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $23.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.91.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.