Robert W. Baird Has Lowered Expectations for Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Stock Price

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) had its price objective decreased by stock analysts at Robert W. Baird from $55.00 to $47.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 171.68% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on APLS. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $44.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.37.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APLS opened at $17.30 on Thursday. 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 has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of -8.52 and a beta of 0.73. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $16.65 and a 1-year high of $43.99. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $21.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.12.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.74) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.36) by ($0.38). The firm had revenue of $149.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.61 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 103.11% and a negative net margin of 34.97%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.54) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $3,482,123. The trade was a 3.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,115 shares of company stock valued at $154,684. 6.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 18.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 255,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,381,000 after buying an additional 39,019 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 87.0% during the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $686,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 135.6% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $949,000 after acquiring an additional 17,115 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $254,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3,862.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 104,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,328,000 after purchasing an additional 101,655 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Apellis Pharmaceuticals

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).