Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $32.6316.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup dropped their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Wedbush cut their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 5,928 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total value of $129,052.56. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,151,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,065,586.14. This represents a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Caroline Baumal sold 2,797 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $60,890.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 86,527 shares in the company, valued at $1,883,692.79. This represents a 3.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 120,537 shares of company stock valued at $2,608,532. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 206.8% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,373 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 64.1% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 141.2% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,570 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $64,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 338.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 4,191 shares during the period. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $18.94 on Monday. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $16.10 and a 12-month high of $30.48. The company has a current ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 2.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $21.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a PE ratio of 145.70 and a beta of 0.26.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by $0.86. The company had revenue of $199.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.28 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 2.23% and a return on equity of 8.20%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.29) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.