HC Wainwright Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS)

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at HC Wainwright in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $57.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 126.64% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also commented on APLS. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $43.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $61.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.71.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 3.3 %

APLS opened at $25.15 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.39 and a beta of 0.96. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $29.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.51. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $24.33 and a fifty-two week high of $66.00.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.29) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.37) by $0.08. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 34.97% and a negative return on equity of 103.11%. The business had revenue of $212.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.92 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.73) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 45.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Caroline Baumal sold 2,816 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.81, for a total value of $95,208.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 55,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,878,483.60. This trade represents a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO James George Chopas sold 1,096 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.43, for a total value of $33,351.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 48,138 shares in the company, valued at $1,464,839.34. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 60,365 shares of company stock worth $1,810,479 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2,707.1% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 786 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 758 shares during the period. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 357.2% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $56,000. 96.29% of the stock is owned by 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).