David O. Watson Sells 3,323 Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Stock

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) General Counsel David O. Watson sold 3,323 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.43, for a total transaction of $101,118.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 144,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,412,167.42. This trade represents a 2.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:APLS opened at $30.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 3.73 and a current ratio of 4.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $32.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.18. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.34 and a fifty-two week high of $71.90.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.46) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.32) by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $196.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $200.00 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 103.11% and a negative net margin of 34.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 78.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($1.17) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 42.2% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 134,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,161,000 after buying an additional 39,931 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,884,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,036,000 after acquiring an additional 735,160 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 137.8% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 123,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,742,000 after acquiring an additional 71,650 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $1,370,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $824,000. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on APLS shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.71.

About Apellis Pharmaceuticals

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).