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

Key Points

• Apellis Pharmaceuticals has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from 20 analysts, with a 1-year price target averaging $37.78.
• Insider trading activity includes notable sales by General Counsel David O. Watson and CEO Cedric Francois, with a combined total exceeding $2.8 million in shares sold.
• In the latest quarter, Apellis reported an EPS of ($0.33), surpassing estimates, but revenue fell short of expectations at $171.39 million.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $37.78.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on APLS shares. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $28.00 to $20.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the general counsel directly owned 128,730 shares in the company, valued at $2,516,671.50. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 137,465 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.19, for a total transaction of $2,775,418.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 343,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,933,912.27. This trade represents a 28.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 169,090 shares of company stock valued at $3,403,832 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of APLS. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% in the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,661,823 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,076,000 after buying an additional 184,292 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 9.9% in the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 20,287 shares of the company's stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 1,828 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 455.4% in the second quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 164,275 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,844,000 after buying an additional 134,698 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $286,000. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 47.0% in the second quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 24,350 shares of the company's stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 7,783 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ APLS opened at $22.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.61 and a beta of 0.77. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $16.10 and a twelve month high of $41.94. The company's fifty day moving average is $18.76 and its 200-day moving average is $21.79. The company has a quick ratio of 3.62, a current ratio of 4.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported ($0.33) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by $0.11. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.24% and a negative return on equity of 108.68%. The firm had revenue of $171.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $187.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.30) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

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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