Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Sets New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares of Apellis hit a new 52-week high of $40.43 on heavy trading (about 18.15 million shares), jumping from a prior close of $17.09.
• The move followed a strong quarter — EPS of $0.47 versus a consensus of ($0.39) and revenue of $199.91M — and the stock carries a consensus Moderate Buy rating with an average price target of $32.42.
• Insiders have sold shares recently while institutional ownership remains very high at about 96.3%, highlighting mixed signals despite the rally.

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $40.43 and last traded at $40.41, with a volume of 18150486 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.09.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on APLS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.42.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 310.07 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 2.70 and a current ratio of 3.14. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $20.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.47.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by $0.86. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 8.20% and a net margin of 2.23%.The firm had revenue of $199.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $199.28 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.29) EPS. The company's revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 27,192 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $6,227,199.65. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Nur Nicholson sold 7,725 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 $168,173.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 71,118 shares in the company, valued at $1,548,238.86. This trade represents a 9.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 115,537 shares of company stock valued at $2,486,082 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 35.9% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 567,046 shares of the company's stock worth $14,244,000 after purchasing an additional 149,654 shares in the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $2,419,000. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 50,375 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $1,135,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 91.9% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 485,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,406,000 after purchasing an additional 232,506 shares during the period. 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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