Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $45.53.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wedbush cut their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

APLS opened at $24.27 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.96 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $27.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.46. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $23.25 and a 1-year high of $59.91. The company has a current ratio of 4.36, a quick ratio of 3.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.29) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.37) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $212.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.92 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 45.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.73) EPS. On average, analysts expect that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,569 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.10, for a total transaction of $139,781.90. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 138,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,482,123. This represents a 3.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO James George Chopas sold 1,096 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.43, for a total value of $33,351.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 48,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,464,839.34. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 66,054 shares of company stock worth $1,952,719. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 140.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,072,000 after buying an additional 19,641 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3,791.4% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 997,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,816,000 after acquiring an additional 971,431 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $83,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 212,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,793,000 after purchasing an additional 21,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 189,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,046,000 after purchasing an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).