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

Key Points

• Apellis Pharmaceuticals shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $41.05 and last at $40.975 on volume of roughly 250,063 shares.
• Despite the rally, Wall Street's consensus is a Hold with a $34.89 price target (3 Buys, 18 Holds, 2 Sells) and several recent downgrades and target cuts.
• The company posted an EPS beat of $0.47 versus an expected ($0.39) with revenue of $199.9M (down 5.9% YoY), leaving a market cap near $5.25B and a high trailing P/E (~315).

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $41.05 and last traded at $40.9750, with a volume of 250063 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $40.97.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APLS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Roth Mkm downgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $41.00 price objective (down from $44.00) on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wedbush cut their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. HC Wainwright lowered shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $48.00 to $41.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $34.89.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.0%

The company's fifty day simple moving average is $29.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 3.14 and a quick ratio of 2.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.25 billion, a PE ratio of 315.29 and a beta of -0.24.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by $0.86. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 2.23% and a return on equity of 8.20%. The business had revenue of $199.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $199.28 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.29) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.23 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 35.9% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 567,046 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,244,000 after buying an additional 149,654 shares during the last quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. grew its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 48.0% during the third quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 155,399 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,517,000 after buying an additional 50,375 shares during the last quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 68.2% during the third quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC now owns 145,729 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,298,000 after buying an additional 59,066 shares during the last quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $5,476,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 144.8% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,456,225 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,954,000 after buying an additional 861,413 shares during the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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