Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Price Target Cut to $31.00 by Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) had its price target cut by Cantor Fitzgerald from $35.00 to $31.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.42.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

APLS opened at $17.89 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 3.14 and a quick ratio of 2.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 137.63 and a beta of 0.26. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.06. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $16.10 and a one year high of $30.48.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by $0.86. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 2.23% and a return on equity of 8.20%. The firm had revenue of $199.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $199.28 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.29) EPS. Apellis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 27,192 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $591,969.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 286,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,227,199.65. The trade was 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 this link. Also, CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 10,287 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 $223,947.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 93,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,044,224.77. This represents a 9.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 115,537 shares of company stock worth $2,486,082 over the last three months. Insiders own 6.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of APLS. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 206.8% during 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. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings 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 during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings 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 during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $64,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 338.5% during the second 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 in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.