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

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.65.

A number of research firms have weighed in on APLS. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $63.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 6,247 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.70, for a total value of $179,288.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 307,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,822,810.50. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 2,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.70, for a total value of $62,279.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,528,470. This represents a 2.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,308 shares of company stock worth $511,406 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eastern Bank boosted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 87.0% in the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,884,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,036,000 after buying an additional 735,160 shares in the last quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 114.0% in the 3rd quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC now owns 100,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,895,000 after buying an additional 53,467 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $390,000. Finally, Old West Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $2,953,000. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $27.69 on Wednesday. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $24.34 and a twelve month high of $71.90. The company has a quick ratio of 3.73, a current ratio of 4.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The company has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.64 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $31.86 and its 200 day moving average is $33.48.

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

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).