Apellis Pharmaceuticals Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:APLS)

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders purchased 18,182 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 703% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,265 call options.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Adam J. Townsend sold 1,148 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.77, for a total value of $77,799.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 92,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,265,539.81. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director A. Sinclair Dunlop sold 18,681 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.18, for a total transaction of $1,068,179.58. Following the transaction, the director now owns 173,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,949,205.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Adam J. Townsend sold 1,148 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.77, for a total value of $77,799.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 92,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,265,539.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 376,427 shares of company stock worth $23,169,639 over the last 90 days. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of APLS. Wynnefield Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $380,000. abrdn plc acquired a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $10,119,000. General American Investors Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $1,712,000. Profund Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 114.5% in the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 35,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,337,000 after acquiring an additional 18,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 6.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 879,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,451,000 after acquiring an additional 50,835 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:APLS opened at $44.19 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.10, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $56.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.53. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $19.83 and a twelve month high of $94.75. The company has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.86 and a beta of 0.88.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.73) EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.73). The business had revenue of $146.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $143.34 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 133.34% and a negative return on equity of 178.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 545.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.50) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on APLS. UBS Group raised their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wedbush lowered their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $57.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Three investment 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 MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.40.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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).