Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Stock Rating Upgraded by Bank of America

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) was upgraded by stock analysts at Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $28.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 36.79% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on APLS. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 29th. HC Wainwright decreased their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $57.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.53.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of APLS opened at $20.47 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $22.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.52. The company has a quick ratio of 3.10, a current ratio of 3.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.03 and a beta of 0.31. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $16.10 and a 12-month high of $31.17.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $458.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $364.58 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 4.43% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 133.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.46) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total transaction of $128,258.20. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 98,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,193,215.22. The trade was a 5.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 10,186 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total value of $226,027.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 321,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,132,287.61. This represents a 3.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 37,370 shares of company stock valued at $830,090 over the last quarter. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Simplify Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $2,419,000. Corton Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $364,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 43.5% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 100,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,838,000 after purchasing an additional 30,507 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,135,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 91.9% in the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 485,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,406,000 after buying an additional 232,506 shares during the period. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc, traded as NASDAQ:APLS, is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies targeting the complement cascade for the treatment of rare and debilitating diseases. The company’s research and development efforts center on modulating complement proteins to address a range of ophthalmologic, hematologic and renal conditions. Apellis leverages its proprietary compstatin technology platform to design targeted inhibitors intended to improve patient outcomes and quality of life.

The company’s lead marketed product, Syfovre (pegcetacoplan), is an intravitreal complement C3 inhibitor approved for geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration, with ongoing investigations in other retinal disorders.