Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Receives $75.56 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $75.56.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on APLS. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Wedbush cut their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $57.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $36.29 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 3.02. The stock has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.49 and a beta of 0.95. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $19.83 and a 1-year high of $91.35.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.54) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.54). Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 79.67% and a negative return on equity of 160.77%. The firm had revenue of $172.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $163.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.56) EPS. Apellis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 284.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 78,907 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.35, for a total value of $3,341,711.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,115,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,261,880.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 78,907 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.35, for a total transaction of $3,341,711.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,115,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,261,880.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director A. Sinclair Dunlop sold 37,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.24, for a total value of $1,451,880.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 136,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,375,801.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 185,014 shares of company stock valued at $8,537,118. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,555,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $572,003,000 after purchasing an additional 85,701 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 38.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,460,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,277,000 after buying an additional 677,098 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 109.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,145,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,400,000 after acquiring an additional 1,121,497 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc raised its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 126.6% in the third quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 1,053,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,089,000 after acquiring an additional 588,875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $56,640,000. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).