Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Shares Down 4.1% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Apellis Pharmaceuticals' shares declined by 4.1%, closing at $24.96, with trading volume down 82% from the average session.
• Multiple research firms have increased their price targets for Apellis Pharmaceuticals, with projections ranging from $29.00 to $50.00, indicating a generally positive outlook on the stock.
• The company reported a revenue of $171.39 million for the last quarter, which was below analyst expectations, reflecting a 10.6% year-over-year decrease.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 4.1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $25.20 and last traded at $24.96. 399,951 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 2,273,110 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on APLS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup upped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.12.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 3.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $23.50 and a 200-day moving average of $21.36. The stock has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of -13.83 and a beta of 0.73.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported ($0.33) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.44) by $0.11. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 116.09% and a negative net margin of 30.24%.The company had revenue of $171.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $187.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.30) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 175,037 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.19, for a total transaction of $4,934,293.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 357,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,089,454.71. This represents a 32.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total value of $139,000.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 123,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,439,694. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 399,638 shares of company stock valued at $9,910,962. 6.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of APLS. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 141.2% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,682 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,570 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP lifted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 52.9% during the 2nd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 475,000 shares of the company's stock worth $8,222,000 after acquiring an additional 164,300 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 748.8% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 6,892 shares of the company's stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 6,080 shares during the period. Exome Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,707,000. Finally, Voleon Capital Management LP lifted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 42.9% during the 2nd quarter. Voleon Capital Management LP now owns 43,139 shares of the company's stock worth $747,000 after acquiring an additional 12,948 shares during the period. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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).

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