Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Trading 7.8% Higher – What’s Next?

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) shot up 7.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $25.98 and last traded at $25.8130. 983,852 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 2,039,147 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APLS has been the topic of several analyst reports. HC Wainwright reduced their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $57.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 19th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.94.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.29 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a current ratio of 3.54, a quick ratio of 3.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company’s 50 day moving average is $22.63 and its 200 day moving average is $23.20.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.64. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 4.43%.The company had revenue of $458.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $364.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.46) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 133.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.49, for a total value of $122,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 103,730 shares in the company, valued at $2,540,347.70. This represents a 4.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.03, for a total transaction of $280,300.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 110,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,109,536.08. This represents a 8.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 56,092 shares of company stock worth $1,366,652. 6.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Deep Track Capital LP increased its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Deep Track Capital LP now owns 8,000,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,049,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,382 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 46.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,976,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,898,995 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 11,373.8% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,704,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,821,000 after purchasing an additional 2,681,263 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,661,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,076,000 after purchasing an additional 184,292 shares during the period. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 96.0% in the 3rd quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,650,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,975,000 after buying an additional 1,298,055 shares during the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.