HC Wainwright Reiterates Buy Rating for Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS)

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at HC Wainwright in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $57.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 96.35% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on APLS. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $92.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $43.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.65.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 4.8 %

NASDAQ:APLS opened at $29.03 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 4.36 and a quick ratio of 3.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $31.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.45. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $24.34 and a 1-year high of $71.90. The company has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of -14.30 and a beta of 0.94.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.46) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.32) by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $196.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $200.00 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 34.97% and a negative return on equity of 103.11%. The firm’s revenue was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.17) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Caroline Baumal sold 2,816 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.81, for a total transaction of $95,208.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 55,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,878,483.60. The trade was a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 6,247 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.70, for a total value of $179,288.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 307,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,822,810.50. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 17,308 shares of company stock valued at $511,406. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 21.6% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 781 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

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).