Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Shares Up 9.5% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Apellis Pharmaceuticals shares rose by 9.5% during mid-day trading, reaching a high of $26.10, although trading volume fell 39% below average.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Apellis, with ten ratings as a hold, nine as buy, and one as strong buy, leading to an average price target of $34.12.
• The company reported a loss of ($0.33) earnings per share in its latest quarterly earnings, slightly beating analyst expectations, while also experiencing a 10.6% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 9.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $26.10 and last traded at $26.18. 1,379,627 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the average session volume of 2,277,602 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on APLS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $34.12.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.40 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.39. The company has a current ratio of 3.77, a quick ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported ($0.33) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $171.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $187.91 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 116.09% and a negative net margin of 30.24%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.30) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total transaction of $97,750.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 128,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,516,671.50. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 137,465 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 343,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,933,912.27. This represents a 28.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 169,090 shares of company stock worth $3,403,832 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 748.8% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 6,892 shares of the company's stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 6,080 shares during the period. Exome Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,707,000. Voleon Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 42.9% during the 2nd quarter. Voleon Capital Management LP now owns 43,139 shares of the company's stock valued at $747,000 after acquiring an additional 12,948 shares during the period. Two Sigma Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $366,000. Finally, HRT Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,855,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company's stock.

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).