Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Stock

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) had its target price boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $26.00 to $29.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on APLS. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $47.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $49.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $40.05.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

APLS stock traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $19.12. 1,222,366 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,259,482. The company has a current ratio of 4.36, a quick ratio of 3.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.42 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.75. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $16.10 and a 12 month high of $43.76.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.74) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.36) by ($0.38). The company had revenue of $149.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.61 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 103.11% and a negative net margin of 34.97%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.54) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 119.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,077,419 shares of the company's stock worth $89,173,000 after acquiring an additional 2,220,977 shares during the last quarter. Boxer Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,504,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 266,361.5% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,385,600 shares of the company's stock worth $44,214,000 after acquiring an additional 1,385,080 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 969.6% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,518,827 shares of the company's stock worth $48,465,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376,832 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,014,000. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).