Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Receives “Buy” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their buy rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) in a research report report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $85.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Wedbush reduced their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $57.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $76.67.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

APLS opened at $42.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.44 and a beta of 0.97. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $19.83 and a 1-year high of $94.75. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 3.10 and a quick ratio of 2.50.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.54) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.54). Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 178.60% and a negative net margin of 133.34%. The business had revenue of $172.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $163.37 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($1.56) EPS. Apellis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 284.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 69,107 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $60,452,799.11. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.66, for a total transaction of $234,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 93,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,475,207.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 69,107 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.17, for a total value of $3,743,526.19. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,115,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,452,799.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 376,427 shares of company stock worth $23,169,639. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of APLS. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 11.6% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 8,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 881 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1,300.8% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 3,330 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 57.4% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 39,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,343,000 after buying an additional 14,531 shares during the period. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC increased its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 92.7% during the first quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC now owns 89,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,244,000 after acquiring an additional 42,905 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 8.3% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $511,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

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).