Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 60,741 Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) by 254.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,604 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 60,741 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals were worth $4,973,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in APLS. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 109.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,145,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,400,000 after acquiring an additional 1,121,497 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $56,640,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 38.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,460,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,277,000 after acquiring an additional 677,098 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 126.6% in the third quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 1,053,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,089,000 after acquiring an additional 588,875 shares during the period. Finally, Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 44.2% in the fourth quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 885,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,986,000 after acquiring an additional 271,122 shares during the period. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 69,107 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.17, for a total value of $3,743,526.19. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,115,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,452,799.11. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 69,107 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.17, for a total value of $3,743,526.19. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,115,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,452,799.11. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director A. Sinclair Dunlop sold 37,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.24, for a total transaction of $1,451,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 136,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,375,801.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 185,014 shares of company stock valued at $8,537,118. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on APLS. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, June 28th. Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $57.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $89.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.56.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:APLS traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $35.90. 192,682 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,492,093. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 3.02. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.83 and a 1 year high of $87.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.21.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.54) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.54). Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 79.67% and a negative return on equity of 160.77%. The firm had revenue of $172.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $163.37 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.56) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 284.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.08 EPS for the current year.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals 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).