Royal Bank of Canada Has Lowered Expectations for Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Stock Price

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) had its target price dropped by stock analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $26.00 to $25.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 1.99% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup cut their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $63.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $92.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.71.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.64 on Monday, reaching $24.51. The stock had a trading volume of 376,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,755,203. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 3.73 and a current ratio of 4.36. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $29.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.48. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.07 and a beta of 0.96. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $24.19 and a fifty-two week high of $66.00.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.29) EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $212.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.92 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.73) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 45.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 13,551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.43, for a total value of $412,356.93. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 418,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,735,533.17. The trade was a 3.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO James George Chopas sold 1,096 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 48,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,464,839.34. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 60,365 shares of company stock worth $1,810,479. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 21.6% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 781 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $402,000. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,370,000. Old West Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,953,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $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).