Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) in a research report report published on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $44.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald also issued estimates for Apellis Pharmaceuticals' FY2025 earnings at ($0.94) EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on APLS. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wedbush dropped their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $45.28.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of APLS stock traded up $0.26 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $20.34. 2,221,961 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,170,426. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.02 and a beta of 0.85. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $16.98 and a 52-week high of $49.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 4.36 and a quick ratio of 3.73. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $21.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.37.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.29) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.37) by $0.08. The business had revenue of $212.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.92 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 103.11% and a negative net margin of 34.97%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 45.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.73) EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,569 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.10, for a total value of $139,781.90. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 138,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,482,123. This represents a 3.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 6,115 shares of company stock valued at $154,684 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APLS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,884,730 shares of the company's stock worth $112,036,000 after buying an additional 735,160 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 21,649 shares of the company's stock valued at $691,000 after acquiring an additional 1,864 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3,862.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 104,287 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,328,000 after acquiring an additional 101,655 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $445,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 18.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 255,897 shares of the company's stock worth $7,381,000 after purchasing an additional 39,019 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).