PGIM Jennison Health Sciences Fund released its second quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The fund modestly underperformed the S&P 1500 Health Care Index in the quarter which declined 1.1%. Security selection within pharmaceuticals, MedTech, and health care provides & services contributed the most value during the quarter, while stock selection within Biotechnology was largely detracted. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
PGIM Jennison Health Sciences Fund highlighted stocks like Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS), in the second quarter 2024 investor letter. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company. The one-month return of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) was -27.51%, and its shares lost 28.15% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On October 2, 2024, Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) stock closed at $28.48 per share with a market capitalization of $3.468 billion.
PGIM Jennison Health Sciences Fund stated the following regarding Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) is a biotech company focusing on complement therapeutics. The company sells two drugs. The first is subcutaneous pegcetacoplan for the treatment of Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH) which was approved in 2021. The second, approved in February 2023, is Syfovre for the treatment of Geographic Atrophy (GA). Syfovre has shown compelling data out to 36 months and its launch has been going extraordinarily well. Outside of Empaveli and Syfovre, Apellis also has a growing pipeline of complement therapeutics focused on rare disease and ophthalmology. Weakness the past several months is attributed to the launch of a competitive drug from Astellas Pharma named Izervay and concerns around how Izervay securing reimbursement would impact Syfovre’s launch. While we believe the market opportunity for GA is large to support both drugs, we also believe Syfovre is the better drug. The long-term data for APLS has supported this, while Izervay’s lack of long-term data should negatively impact its brand, eventually. Syfovre grew 20% from 4Q23 to 1Q24 and their market share dropped from 90% to 85%. We remain focused on the overall growth of the GA market as a key metric. The company has recently initiated new marketing efforts and a branded DTC campaign. We are closely monitoring the growth rates in the GA market as well as the share split between Syfovre and Izervay. Apellis has several catalysts between now and year end, including an appeal decision on European Union approval, Phase 3 data for Empaveli in kidney disease, and as it relates to the competition, the final Izervay label in November that will give us the final decision on treatment duration.”
A biomedical scientist in a lab coat conducting research on biopharmaceutical compounds.
Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 38 hedge fund portfolios held Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) at the end of the second quarter which was 46 in the previous quarter. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:APLS) second quarter revenue was approximately $200 million compared to $95 million in Q2 2023. While we acknowledge the potential of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we discussed Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) and shared largest biotech hedge funds and their top stock picks. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.