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

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-one brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $39.89.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on APLS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Wedbush cut their target price 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. Raymond James lowered shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their target price for the company from $75.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $44.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:APLS traded down $0.34 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $17.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,293,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,266,992. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 3.73 and a current ratio of 4.36. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $16.10 and a fifty-two week high of $43.76. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $19.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.32. The company has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of -8.59 and a beta of 0.73.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.74) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.36) by ($0.38). Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 103.11% and a negative net margin of 34.97%. The company had revenue of $149.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.61 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.54) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 firm's 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 sale, the general counsel now directly owns 138,730 shares in the company, valued at $3,482,123. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 6.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of APLS. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2,707.1% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 786 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3,938.7% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,252 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,221 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 357.2% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 21.9% in the first quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 3,185 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 573 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 70.0% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,223 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 1,327 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company's stock.

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).