Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $40.63 and last traded at $40.5510, with a volume of 1646645 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.41.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on APLS. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Apellis Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.11.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 312.22 and a beta of -0.19. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 2.70 and a current ratio of 3.14.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by $0.86. The business had revenue of $199.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $199.28 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 8.20% and a net margin of 2.23%.Apellis Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.29) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CAO James George Chopas sold 2,064 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total value of $44,933.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 49,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,254.85. This represents a 3.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 5,928 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $129,052.56. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,151,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,065,586.14. This trade represents a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 115,537 shares of company stock worth $2,486,082. 6.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 468 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 96,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,415,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 6.9% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 8,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the period. Xponance LLC raised its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 18,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $456,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 64.1% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.