David Watson Sells 5,000 Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Stock

Key Points

• David Watson, General Counsel of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, sold 5,000 shares at an average price of $25.22, reducing his stake by 4.21% to 113,730 shares, valued at approximately $2.87 million.
• Apellis Pharmaceuticals' shares increased by 1.5% during trading hours, with the stock priced at $24.52, while the company has a market cap of $3.10 billion.
• Research analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" for Apellis Pharmaceuticals, with a target price around $33.47, reflecting mixed sentiments towards the stock's performance.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) General Counsel David Watson sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.22, for a total transaction of $126,100.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 113,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,868,270.60. This trade represents a 4.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ APLS traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $24.52. 1,649,561 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,274,309. The company has a quick ratio of 3.16, a current ratio of 3.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90. The company has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of -13.47 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $25.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.17. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.10 and a 12 month high of $35.72.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported ($0.33) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $171.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $187.91 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.24% and a negative return on equity of 116.09%. Apellis Pharmaceuticals's revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.30) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in APLS. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3,938.7% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,252 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,221 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 80.0% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,924 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 141.2% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,682 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,570 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. boosted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 21.9% during the first quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 3,185 shares of the company's stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 15.6% during the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,855 shares of the company's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 655 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on APLS shares. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.47.

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).

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