Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Price Target to $21.00

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada from $24.00 to $21.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "sector perform" rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada's price target indicates a potential upside of 20.07% from the stock's previous close.

APLS has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wedbush decreased their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.35.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.3 %

APLS stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Monday, hitting $17.49. 2,870,339 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,169,989. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.62 and a beta of 0.85. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $16.98 and a 1 year high of $49.38. The company has a quick ratio of 3.73, a current ratio of 4.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.65.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.29) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.37) by $0.08. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 103.11% and a negative net margin of 34.97%. The firm had revenue of $212.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.92 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.73) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 45.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,569 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.10, for a total transaction of $139,781.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 138,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,482,123. This represents a 3.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 2,824 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total value of $83,364.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 415,695 shares in the company, valued at $12,271,316.40. This trade represents a 0.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,005 shares of company stock valued at $299,037. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APLS. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2,707.1% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 786 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 357.2% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 918 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $83,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 70.0% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,223 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1,819.2% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,992 shares of the company's stock worth $127,000 after acquiring an additional 3,784 shares during the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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).