Bank of America Boosts Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Price Target to $24.00

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) had its price target boosted by Bank of America from $23.00 to $24.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Bank of America‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 19.76% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $28.00 to $20.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $44.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $47.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.84.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.5%

APLS opened at $20.04 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a current ratio of 4.08 and a quick ratio of 3.62. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $16.10 and a fifty-two week high of $41.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of -11.20 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s 50-day moving average is $18.19 and its 200 day moving average is $22.73.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its earnings results 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). Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 99.19% and a negative net margin of 28.83%. The business had revenue of $149.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.61 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.54) EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 1,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.09, for a total value of $38,171.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 342,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,877,469.97. This trade represents a 0.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.77, for a total transaction of $93,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 133,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,510,112.10. This represents a 3.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 144,365 shares of company stock worth $2,907,439. Insiders own 6.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,564,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2,707.1% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $430,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 357.2% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $449,000 after acquiring an additional 749 shares during the period. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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).