Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) General Counsel David O. Watson Sells 5,000 Shares

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total transaction of $97,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 128,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,516,671.50. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.8%

APLS stock traded down $0.57 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $19.47. The company had a trading volume of 1,842,831 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,366,386. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.10 and a 1 year high of $41.94. The company has a current ratio of 4.08, a quick ratio of 3.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76. The company has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.88 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50 day moving average of $18.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.73.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.74) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.36) by ($0.38). Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 99.19% and a negative net margin of 28.83%. The company had revenue of $149.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $197.61 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.54) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on APLS shares. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $49.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $52.00 in a report on Friday, May 9th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 21,649 shares of the company's stock worth $691,000 after buying an additional 1,864 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 882,801 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,170,000 after purchasing an additional 22,507 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 147.8% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 74,325 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,625,000 after purchasing an additional 44,332 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 212,887 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,793,000 after purchasing an additional 21,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1,795.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 9,695 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.29% of the company's stock.

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).

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