Insider Selling: Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) General Counsel Sells 5,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• David Watson, General Counsel of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, sold 5,000 shares at an average price of $27.80, totaling approximately $139,000, reducing his ownership by 3.88% to 123,730 shares.
• Apellis reported a quarterly EPS of ($0.33), beating expectations, but its revenue of $171.39 million fell short of analysts' estimates of $187.91 million.
• Institutional investors hold 96.29% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals' stock, with significant increases in positions by several hedge funds in recent quarters.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total transaction of $139,000.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 123,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,439,694. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ APLS traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $27.97. The stock had a trading volume of 1,823,727 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,146,253. The business's 50 day moving average is $20.96 and its 200-day moving average is $21.37. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.10 and a 52 week high of $41.94. 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 $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.37 and a beta of 0.78.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported ($0.33) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $171.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $187.91 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.30) earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3,938.7% during the first 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 raised its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 80.0% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,924 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. raised its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 21.9% in the 1st quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 3,185 shares of the company's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 15.6% in the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,855 shares of the company's stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 338.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,429 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 4,191 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report 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. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $28.00 to $20.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.12.

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).