Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Trading Down 3.5% After Analyst Downgrade

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) shares fell 3.5% during trading on Monday after Mizuho lowered their price target on the stock from $60.00 to $52.00. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Apellis Pharmaceuticals traded as low as $48.01 and last traded at $48.11. 88,800 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 94% from the average session volume of 1,458,726 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.86.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Wedbush reduced their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $57.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.40.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 69,107 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.17, for a total transaction of $3,743,526.19. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,115,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,452,799.11. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 69,107 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.17, for a total transaction of $3,743,526.19. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,115,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,452,799.11. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 250,000 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.11, for a total value of $16,027,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 313,662 shares in the company, valued at $20,108,870.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 376,427 shares of company stock worth $23,169,639. Company insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wynnefield Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $380,000. abrdn plc bought a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $10,119,000. General American Investors Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $1,712,000. Profund Advisors LLC increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 114.5% in the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 35,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,337,000 after acquiring an additional 18,766 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 6.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 879,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,451,000 after buying an additional 50,835 shares during the period. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 3.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a current ratio of 3.10. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.53.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.73) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.73). The business had revenue of $146.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $143.34 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 133.34% and a negative return on equity of 178.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 545.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($1.50) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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).