Caroline Baumal Sells 2,816 Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Stock

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) insider Caroline Baumal sold 2,816 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.81, for a total value of $95,208.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 55,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,878,483.60. The trade was a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 4.7 %

NASDAQ:APLS opened at $33.00 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $31.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 4.36 and a quick ratio of 3.73. The stock has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of -16.26 and a beta of 0.94. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.34 and a fifty-two week high of $73.80.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.46) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $196.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $200.00 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 34.97% and a negative return on equity of 103.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($1.17) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on APLS shares. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $64.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. William Blair began coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. HC Wainwright decreased their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $83.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $92.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.94.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Braidwell LP grew its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 410.8% in the third quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 3,125,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,130,000 after purchasing an additional 2,513,383 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 191.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,144,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,845,000 after buying an additional 1,409,707 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,884,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,036,000 after buying an additional 735,160 shares during the last quarter. Sphera Funds Management LTD. bought a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $6,226,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 337.3% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 246,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,177,000 after acquiring an additional 190,420 shares during the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Apellis Pharmaceuticals

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).