Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) General Counsel Sells $121,700.00 in Stock

Key Points

• General Counsel David Watson of Apellis Pharmaceuticals sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock for a total of $121,700, reducing his total holdings by 4.04%.
• Apellis Pharmaceuticals recently reported a quarterly EPS of ($0.33), exceeding the consensus estimate of ($0.44) but showing a 10.6% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.
• Brokerages have set varying price targets for Apellis stock, with Wells Fargo raising its target to $29.00 and the consensus rating for the stock remaining a "Moderate Buy."

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.34, for a total value of $121,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 118,730 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,888.20. The trade was a 4.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of APLS traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $23.49. The company had a trading volume of 1,549,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,039,484. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.10 and a 52-week high of $35.72. The company has a quick ratio of 3.16, a current ratio of 3.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $24.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.20.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported ($0.33) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.44) by $0.11. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 116.09% and a negative net margin of 30.24%.The firm had revenue of $171.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $187.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.30) earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on APLS. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $34.12.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 15.5% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 218,850 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,786,000 after purchasing an additional 29,373 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 16.7% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 54,444 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 7,777 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 147.8% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 74,325 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,625,000 after purchasing an additional 44,332 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 212,887 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,793,000 after purchasing an additional 21,822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1,795.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 9,695 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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).