Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) CEO Sells $226,027.34 in Stock

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) CEO Cedric Francois sold 10,186 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total value of $226,027.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 321,419 shares in the company, valued at $7,132,287.61. This trade represents a 3.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.0%

APLS traded up $0.20 during trading on Thursday, reaching $20.53. The company had a trading volume of 2,191,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,495,767. The company has a quick ratio of 3.10, a current ratio of 3.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.10 and a 52 week high of $31.17. The stock has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.23 and a beta of 0.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.41.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.64. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 4.43% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The company had revenue of $458.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $364.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.46) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 133.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 51,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,305,000 after acquiring an additional 3,804 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 35.9% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. purchased a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $476,000. Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 857 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on APLS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup reduced their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.65.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.