Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Shares Down 4.7%

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)’s share price was down 4.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $44.29 and last traded at $44.77. Approximately 258,483 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 2,733,259 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.99.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $60.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Friday, October 6th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $115.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $64.00 in a report on Friday, September 15th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.50.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $44.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.69. The company has a quick ratio of 3.76, a current ratio of 4.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 1st. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.88) by ($0.29). Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 209.10% and a negative net margin of 222.16%. The firm had revenue of $110.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.05 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.75) earnings per share. Apellis Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 400.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -4.59 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.87, for a total value of $514,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,059,813 shares in the company, valued at $45,434,183.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.87, for a total value of $514,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,059,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,434,183.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Alec Machiels sold 1,250 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.50, for a total value of $60,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 367,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,819,870. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 210,914 shares of company stock valued at $8,938,011. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cim Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $313,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 3,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 43,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,666,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 69.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 649 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 44,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,028,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.43% of the company’s stock.

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, cold agglutinin disease, C3 glomerulopathy and immune complex membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation-associated thrombotic microangiopathy; and SYFOVRE for treating geographic atrophy (GA).