Insider Selling: Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) General Counsel Sells 5,000 Shares of Stock

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS – Get Rating) General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 125,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,278,450. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Shares of APLS opened at $46.30 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.18 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 6.13 and a current ratio of 6.25. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.50 and a fifty-two week high of $73.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $48.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.69.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 28th. The company reported ($1.61) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of ($1.54) by ($0.07). During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on APLS shares. Citigroup reissued a “focus list” rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, March 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $102.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 4th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.67.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Eversept Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $208,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 25.1% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 56.8% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 952 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 537 shares during the period. Finally, Dupont Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth about $161,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.03% of the company’s stock.

About Apellis Pharmaceuticals (Get Rating)

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. The company's lead product candidate is pegcetacoplan that is in Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of geographic atrophy (GA) in age-related macular degeneration and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) diseases.

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