Citigroup Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Stock Price

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) had its price objective decreased by equities researchers at Citigroup from $45.00 to $44.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 106.85% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Barclays began coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Bank of America raised Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.61.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

APLS stock traded down $0.86 on Wednesday, reaching $21.27. 1,104,847 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,139,910. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $23.20 and a 200-day moving average of $23.84. The firm has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of 68.58 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 3.10, a current ratio of 3.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $16.10 and a twelve month high of $30.48.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by $0.86. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 4.43%.The company had revenue of $199.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.28 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.29) earnings per share. Apellis Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Nur Nicholson sold 7,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total value of $168,173.25. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 71,118 shares in the company, valued at $1,548,238.86. This represents a 9.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 27,192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $591,969.84. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 120,537 shares of company stock valued at $2,608,532. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 207.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 29,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 19,944 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 26.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 307,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,730,000 after buying an additional 64,742 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 222,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,869,000 after acquiring an additional 9,747 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 118.4% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 21,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after acquiring an additional 11,862 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1,146.2% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 23,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,000 after acquiring an additional 22,052 shares during the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Apellis Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat consensus — Apellis reported GAAP EPS of $0.47 vs. a consensus loss estimate (~-$0.39) and revenue of $199.9M, slightly above estimates, which supports near-term fundamentals. Apellis Surpasses Q4 Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Empaveli momentum — management highlighted a strong new-indication launch with Empaveli sales surging ~50%, a clear growth offset to weakness in other franchises. Q4 Highlights: Strong EMPAVELI Launch
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish analyst call — HC Wainwright raised its price target to $48 (buy), signaling a significant bullish view that could support upside if execution continues. HC Wainwright PT Raise
• Neutral Sentiment: Primary materials available — full earnings release, slide deck and multiple call transcripts/recordings are out for investors who want to dig into guidance, margins and segment detail. Q4 Slide Deck / Press Release
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst trims and neutral ratings — Royal Bank of Canada cut its target to $21 (sector perform) and Wedbush lowered its target to $18 (neutral), which adds downward pressure on the share price. RBC & Wedbush PT Cuts
• Negative Sentiment: Product mix headwinds — Syfovre sales slipped ~8% in the quarter and total revenue was down ~5.9% year-over-year, raising durability concerns that some investors and analysts are focusing on. Zacks: Revenue Decline & Product Notes

About Apellis Pharmaceuticals

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.