Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Trading 2.9% Higher

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)’s stock price was up 2.9% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $53.06 and last traded at $53.00. Approximately 141,627 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 1,482,369 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on APLS shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday. Finally, Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.93.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 7.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 3.10, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a PE ratio of -10.72 and a beta of 0.88. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.04.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.73) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.73). The firm had revenue of $146.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $143.34 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 133.34% and a negative return on equity of 178.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 545.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.50) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Adam J. Townsend sold 3,413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $221,845.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 94,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,142,955. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 250,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.11, for a total value of $16,027,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 313,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,108,870.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Adam J. Townsend sold 3,413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $221,845.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 94,507 shares in the company, valued at $6,142,955. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 406,651 shares of company stock valued at $25,130,257. 7.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,555,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $572,003,000 after purchasing an additional 85,701 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,923,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $300,993,000 after purchasing an additional 58,208 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,842,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,124,000 after purchasing an additional 326,537 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 66.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,590,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,760,000 after purchasing an additional 1,840,498 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 79.8% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,542,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,746,000 after purchasing an additional 1,571,606 shares during the period. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Company 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).