Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $45.28.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on APLS. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

APLS stock traded up $1.00 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $19.21. The stock had a trading volume of 2,626,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,159,555. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.53. The stock has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of -9.46 and a beta of 0.85. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $16.98 and a 52-week high of $49.06.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.29) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $212.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.92 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.73) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 45.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

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 that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.10, for a total value of $139,781.90. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 138,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,482,123. This trade represents a 3.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 6,115 shares of company stock worth $154,684. Insiders own 6.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Boxer Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,504,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 266,361.5% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,385,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,214,000 after buying an additional 1,385,080 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 969.6% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,518,827 shares of the company's stock worth $48,465,000 after buying an additional 1,376,832 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,014,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,461,000. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).