Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Short Interest Update

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,590,000 shares, a growth of 5.3% from the February 29th total of 10,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,580,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.7 days.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.66, for a total transaction of $234,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,338 shares in the company, valued at $5,475,207.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, Director A. Sinclair Dunlop sold 18,681 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.18, for a total value of $1,068,179.58. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 173,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,949,205.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.66, for a total transaction of $234,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 93,338 shares in the company, valued at $5,475,207.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 353,172 shares of company stock valued at $22,430,838 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 7.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cim Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,744 shares of the company's stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors boosted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 16,004 shares of the company's stock worth $958,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 3,249 shares of the company's stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 43,800 shares of the company's stock worth $1,666,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 69.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 649 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company's stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $55.91. The company had a trading volume of 695,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,516,317. The company's 50-day moving average is $62.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.40. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $19.83 and a twelve month high of $94.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 3.10 and a quick ratio of 2.50. The company has a market cap of $6.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.48 and a beta of 0.88.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.73) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.73). Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 133.34% and a negative return on equity of 178.60%. The business had revenue of $146.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $143.34 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($1.50) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 545.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on APLS. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $68.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, February 5th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $67.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.93.

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).