Short Interest in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Increases By 16.1%

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 12,390,000 shares, an increase of 16.1% from the April 15th total of 10,670,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,470,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.4 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APLS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird restated an "outperform" rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, February 5th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $89.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $76.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.22, for a total value of $379,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 93,338 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,900,828.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Nur Nicholson sold 11,220 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.56, for a total value of $645,823.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 56,287 shares in the company, valued at $3,239,879.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.22, for a total transaction of $379,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 93,338 shares in the company, valued at $5,900,828.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 448,012 shares of company stock valued at $26,015,139. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sippican Capital Advisors grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 16,004 shares of the company's stock worth $958,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in 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 buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 23,211 shares of the company's stock valued at $883,000 after buying an additional 541 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.29% of the company's stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 4.2 %

Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $1.81 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $41.20. 1,454,718 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,561,981. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a PE ratio of -11.91 and a beta of 0.97. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $19.83 and a twelve month high of $94.75. The company has a quick ratio of 3.02, a current ratio of 3.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $52.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.34.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.54) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.54). The company had revenue of $172.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $163.37 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 79.67% and a negative return on equity of 160.77%. The firm's revenue was up 284.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($1.56) EPS. Research analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

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).