Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Key Points

• Apellis Pharmaceuticals reported earnings of ($0.33) per share for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of ($0.44), but its revenue of $171.39 million fell short of the forecast of $187.91 million.
• The company's negative net margin stands at 30.24% and return on equity is at 108.68%, indicating significant ongoing financial challenges.
• Equities analysts have a mixed outlook, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target averaging $37.78, while notable recent upgrades include Citigroup raising their price target to $46.00.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported ($0.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by $0.11, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $171.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $187.91 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 116.09% and a negative net margin of 30.24%. The firm's revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.30) EPS.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.9%

NASDAQ APLS traded down $0.47 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $23.73. 2,087,602 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,300,952. The firm has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.04 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $19.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 3.16. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $16.10 and a 12-month high of $41.94.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on APLS. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.83.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total value of $97,750.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 128,730 shares in the company, valued at $2,516,671.50. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 19,725 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.21, for a total value of $398,642.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 331,605 shares in the company, valued at $6,701,737.05. This represents a 5.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 169,090 shares of company stock valued at $3,403,832. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 26.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 307,709 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,730,000 after purchasing an additional 64,742 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 222,634 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,869,000 after purchasing an additional 9,747 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 207.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 29,559 shares of the company's stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 19,944 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1,146.2% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 23,976 shares of the company's stock worth $522,000 after acquiring an additional 22,052 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 118.4% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 21,883 shares of the company's stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 11,862 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).