Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.53 EPS

Key Points

• Earnings beat: Apellis reported Q EPS of $0.15, beating the consensus by $0.53 (consensus -$0.38), and revenue of $268.3M topped estimates of $203.6M.
• Shares were little changed (down 0.3%) at $41.01 on heavy volume, leaving a market cap of $5.25B and a high trailing P/E of 315.49.
• Analysts are mixed: the consensus rating is "Hold" with an average price target of $34.89 (below the current price), though several banks raised targets to about $41, and institutional ownership is ~96%.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by $0.53, FiscalAI reports. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 2.23% and a return on equity of 8.20%. The business had revenue of $268.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $203.58 million.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:APLS traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $41.01. The stock had a trading volume of 8,392,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,822,692. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $16.10 and a 12 month high of $41.14. The company has a quick ratio of 2.70, a current ratio of 3.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $30.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.59. The company has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 315.49 and a beta of -0.24.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 42,960 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 96,211 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,424,000 after buying an additional 19,500 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $366,000. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 17.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 47.3% during the fourth quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP now owns 13,152 shares of the company's stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 4,225 shares during the period. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $28.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $41.00 target price (up from $37.00) on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $41.00 in a report on Friday, April 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $34.89.

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.

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