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 Watson sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total transaction of $139,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 123,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,439,694. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $26.68. 2,846,226 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,320,231. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $20.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.37. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.66 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 3.16 and a current ratio of 3.77. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.10 and a 52 week high of $41.94.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported ($0.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.44) by $0.11. The company had revenue of $171.39 million during 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 revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.30) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APLS has been the topic of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup upped their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $34.12.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3,938.7% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,252 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,221 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 80.0% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,924 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $83,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 15.6% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 338.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,429 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 4,191 shares during the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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).

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