Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Stock Price Up 7.5% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) were up 7.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $23.79 and last traded at $23.45. Approximately 1,865,689 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average daily volume of 2,990,746 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.81.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APLS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, January 12th. HC Wainwright dropped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $57.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.00.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 6.2%

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 has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.55 and a beta of 0.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $23.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.63.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 4.43% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The firm had revenue of $458.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $364.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.46) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 133.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, insider Nur Nicholson sold 7,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total value of $168,173.25. Following the sale, the insider owned 71,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,548,238.86. This represents a 9.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 10,287 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total value of $223,947.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 93,901 shares in the company, valued at $2,044,224.77. The trade was a 9.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 125,169 shares of company stock worth $2,700,681 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of APLS. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 11,373.8% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,704,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,821,000 after acquiring an additional 2,681,263 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,977,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 46.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,976,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,452,000 after buying an additional 1,898,995 shares during the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc increased its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 96.0% during the third quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,650,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,975,000 after acquiring an additional 1,298,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 386.7% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,604,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,585,000 after acquiring an additional 1,274,523 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.