Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest plunged 43.3% to 14,239,228 shares as of April 15, leaving a short-interest ratio of 1.7 days and about 11.9% of the float shorted.
• Analyst sentiment has cooled with multiple downgrades; the consensus rating is "Hold" (3 Buys, 18 Holds, 2 Sells) and the average price target is $34.89.
• Apellis beat expectations for the quarter with $0.47 EPS vs. a -$0.39 consensus and $199.9M revenue (down 5.9% YoY), though analysts still forecast -$1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 14,239,228 shares, a drop of 43.3% from the March 31st total of 25,123,090 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 8,156,282 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days. Currently, 11.9% of the company's shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on APLS. Raymond James Financial lowered Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Needham & Company LLC lowered Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Barclays increased their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Robert W. Baird lowered Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $34.89.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in APLS. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 35.9% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 567,046 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,244,000 after purchasing an additional 149,654 shares in the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $2,419,000. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 48.0% during the third quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 155,399 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,517,000 after purchasing an additional 50,375 shares in the last quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 68.2% during the third quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC now owns 145,729 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,298,000 after purchasing an additional 59,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Readystate Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $5,476,000. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company's stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

APLS opened at $40.94 on Monday. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $16.10 and a 12-month high of $40.95. The company has a current ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 2.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $27.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.78. The company has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 314.95 and a beta of -0.19.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.39) by $0.86. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 8.20% and a net margin of 2.23%.The business had revenue of $199.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.28 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.29) EPS. The business's revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.