Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Key Points

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Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $19.00, but opened at $20.65. Apellis Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $22.46, with a volume of 1,416,245 shares changing hands.

The company reported ($0.33) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by $0.11. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.24% and a negative return on equity of 116.09%. The business had revenue of $171.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $187.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.30) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APLS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $28.00 to $20.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 137,465 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.19, for a total value of $2,775,418.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 343,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,933,912.27. The trade was a 28.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total transaction of $97,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 128,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,516,671.50. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 169,090 shares of company stock valued at $3,403,832 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APLS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,662,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,838,952 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,699,000 after purchasing an additional 28,426 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $318,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 89.0% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 2,876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 46,667 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,478,000 after acquiring an additional 15,286 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company's stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The stock's 50 day moving average price is $18.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.69. The company has a current ratio of 3.77, a quick ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90. The company has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.33 and a beta of 0.78.

About Apellis Pharmaceuticals

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).