Raymond James Financial Cuts Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Price Target to $50.00

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) had its price objective decreased by Raymond James Financial from $52.00 to $50.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Raymond James Financial currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $28.00 to $20.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. 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 note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.78.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of APLS opened at $22.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 3.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $18.76 and its 200-day moving average is $21.73. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $16.10 and a 12-month high of $41.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.61 and a beta of 0.77.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported ($0.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by $0.11. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 116.09% and a negative net margin of 30.24%. The company had revenue of $171.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $187.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.30) earnings per share. Apellis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 19,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.21, for a total transaction of $398,642.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 331,605 shares in the company, valued at $6,701,737.05. This trade represents a 5.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total value of $97,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 128,730 shares in the company, valued at $2,516,671.50. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 169,090 shares of company stock worth $3,403,832. 6.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of APLS. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 16.7% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 54,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,191,000 after acquiring an additional 7,777 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 882,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,170,000 after purchasing an additional 22,507 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 147.8% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 74,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,625,000 after purchasing an additional 44,332 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 11.4% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 21,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1,795.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 9,695 shares during the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).