Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Receives $33.53 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the twenty-one analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and twelve have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $33.00.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on APLS shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 21st.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:APLS opened at $23.05 on Friday. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $16.10 and a 12-month high of $30.60. The firm has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.36 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.62.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $364.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.46) earnings per share. Apellis Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 133.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 7,832 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 $170,502.64. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 88,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,927,319.87. This trade represents a 8.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 10,287 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 $223,947.99. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 93,901 shares in the company, valued at $2,044,224.77. This trade represents a 9.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 125,169 shares of company stock valued at $2,700,681 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 80.0% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,924 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 206.8% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,373 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 141.2% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,570 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted 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 acquiring an additional 857 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

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.