Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.59.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on APLS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Wedbush lowered their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

APLS opened at $19.97 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.05. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $19.76 and a 1 year high of $57.85. 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 has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.84 and a beta of 0.85.

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

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Caroline Baumal sold 2,816 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.81, for a total transaction of $95,208.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 55,560 shares in the company, 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 the SEC website. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 13,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.43, for a total value of $412,356.93. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 418,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,735,533.17. The trade was a 3.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,054 shares of company stock worth $1,952,719 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2,707.1% in 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 last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 357.2% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $83,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 70.0% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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).