Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Trading 2.9% Higher

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $68.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, February 5th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.93.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.72 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.50, a current ratio of 3.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.04.

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

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 69,107 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.17, for a total transaction of $3,743,526.19. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,115,983 shares in the company, valued at $60,452,799.11. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 3,551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $230,815.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 95,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,218,875. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 69,107 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.17, for a total transaction of $3,743,526.19. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,115,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,452,799.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 406,651 shares of company stock worth $25,130,257. Corporate insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cim Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3.6% in the first quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 16,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $958,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. increased 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 purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 43,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,666,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 69.0% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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).