Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $APLS

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) by 58.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,885 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,192 shares during the quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals were worth $349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 35.9% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 567,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,244,000 after purchasing an additional 149,654 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co. bought a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $476,000. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 64.1% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,533,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $40.23 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $21.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.58. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $16.10 and a one year high of $40.45. The stock has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 309.49 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 2.70 and a current ratio of 3.14.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by $0.86. The business had revenue of $199.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $199.28 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 2.23% and a return on equity of 8.20%. The business’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.29) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 7,832 shares of the company’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 $170,502.64. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 88,531 shares in the company, valued at $1,927,319.87. This represents a 8.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Nur Nicholson sold 7,725 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $168,173.25. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 71,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,548,238.86. This represents a 9.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 115,537 shares of company stock worth $2,486,082 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Key Apellis Pharmaceuticals News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apellis Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Biogen agreed to buy Apellis for $41.00 per share in cash and a CVR that could add up to $4 more if SYFOVRE sales targets are reached — the acquisition explains the sharp upward move as investors price toward the deal. Biogen to acquire Apellis Pharmaceuticals for $5.6B, adding C3 therapies to portfolio
• Positive Sentiment: Major outlets widely reported the transaction (coverage increases deal visibility and supports market acceptance of the offer price). Biogen to Acquire Apellis Pharmaceuticals for $5.6 Billion (WSJ)
• Neutral Sentiment: Needham & Company reaffirmed a “hold” rating on Apellis — a routine analyst reaction that does not change the deal fundamentals. Needham reaffirms hold
• Neutral Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald recently lowered its price target to $31 (from $35) before the deal; the firm still had an Overweight rating — now largely superseded by the acquisition price but illustrative of pre-deal analyst views. Cantor Fitzgerald cuts PT to $31
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder law firms (Ademi LLP and Halper Sadeh LLC) launched investigations into whether Apellis shareholders are receiving a fair price — potential legal challenges or proxy disputes could delay or complicate the closing and create downside risk. Ademi investigation Halper Sadeh investigation

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on APLS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 19th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Bank of America raised Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.42.

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.