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

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.28.

A number of brokerages recently commented on APLS. Wedbush dropped their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,569 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.10, for a total value of $139,781.90. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 138,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,482,123. This trade represents a 3.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 6,115 shares of company stock valued at $154,684. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of APLS. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 56.4% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $956,000 after purchasing an additional 15,766 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. boosted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 21.9% during the 1st quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 3,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth $282,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth $235,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 108.8% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 70,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,534,000 after acquiring an additional 36,565 shares during the period. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of APLS opened at $18.21 on Friday. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $16.98 and a 12 month high of $49.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $22.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.60. The company has a current ratio of 4.36, a quick ratio of 3.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The firm has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a PE ratio of -8.97 and a beta of 0.85.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 103.11% and a negative net margin of 34.97%. The business 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. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 45.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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).