Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Hits New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Apellis hit a new 52-week high on Monday, trading as high as $40.95 (last $40.865) on roughly 5.22 million shares traded.
• Despite the rally, analysts' consensus rating is a Hold with an average price target of $34.89—well below the current share price—after multiple downgrades and lowered targets.
• The company beat quarterly expectations (EPS $0.47 vs. -$0.39 expected; revenue $199.91M vs. $199.28M) while insiders sold shares (88,167 shares sold in the past three months) and institutional investors own about 96.29% of the stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $40.95 and last traded at $40.8650, with a volume of 5216725 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $40.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "sell" rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, January 12th. William Blair cut shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $34.89.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The business's 50 day moving average is $25.84 and its 200-day moving average is $24.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 314.52 and a beta of -0.19. The company has a quick ratio of 2.70, a current ratio of 3.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by $0.86. The firm had revenue of $199.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.28 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 8.20% and a net margin of 2.23%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.29) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Mark Jeffrey Delong sold 3,371 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $73,386.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 78,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,705,744.81. The trade was a 4.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 27,192 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $591,969.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 286,045 shares in the company, valued at $6,227,199.65. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 88,167 shares of company stock valued at $1,878,741 in the last three months. 6.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in APLS. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 225,976 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,677,000 after acquiring an additional 42,960 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 96,211 shares of the company's stock worth $2,424,000 after purchasing an additional 19,500 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $366,000. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 27,086 shares of the company's stock valued at $680,000 after buying an additional 4,013 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 47.3% during the fourth quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP now owns 13,152 shares of the company's stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 4,225 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company's stock.

About Apellis Pharmaceuticals

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.

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