Roth Mkm Initiates Coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS)

Stock analysts at Roth Mkm initiated coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) in a research report issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Roth Mkm’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 63.67% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on APLS. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.63.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $18.94 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $21.90 and a 200 day moving average of $23.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 2.70 and a current ratio of 3.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 145.70 and a beta of 0.26. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $16.10 and a fifty-two week high of $30.48.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by $0.86. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 8.20% and a net margin of 2.23%.The company had revenue of $199.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.28 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.29) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% 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 year.

Insider Activity

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 27,192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $591,969.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 286,045 shares in the company, valued at $6,227,199.65. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 7,832 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $170,502.64. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 88,531 shares in the company, valued at $1,927,319.87. This represents a 8.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 120,537 shares of company stock worth $2,608,532 in the last quarter. Insiders own 6.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 58,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,019,000 after buying an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 468 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 96,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,415,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 6.9% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 8,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance LLC increased its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 18,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $456,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

About Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc, traded as NASDAQ:APLS, is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies targeting the complement cascade for the treatment of rare and debilitating diseases. The company’s research and development efforts center on modulating complement proteins to address a range of ophthalmologic, hematologic and renal conditions. Apellis leverages its proprietary compstatin technology platform to design targeted inhibitors intended to improve patient outcomes and quality of life.

The company’s lead marketed product, Syfovre (pegcetacoplan), is an intravitreal complement C3 inhibitor approved for geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration, with ongoing investigations in other retinal disorders.