Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Price Target Raised to $19.00

Key Points

• Royal Bank Of Canada has raised its price target for Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $17.00 to $19.00, indicating a potential downside of 17.37% from the current stock price while maintaining a "sector perform" rating.
• Other analysts have varying ratings, with Cantor Fitzgerald setting a target of $40.00 and Robert W. Baird raising theirs to $50.00, resulting in a consensus price target of $37.78.
• Apellis Pharmaceuticals recently reported a $0.33 loss per share, better than analysts' expectations of $0.44, with revenues declining 10.6% year-over-year.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $17.00 to $19.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "sector perform" rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price objective points to a potential downside of 21.49% from the company's previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on APLS. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $28.00 to $20.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target 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. Citigroup upped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Bank of America raised their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.83.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ APLS traded down $0.06 on Friday, hitting $24.20. The company had a trading volume of 3,909,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,302,410. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 3.16. The company's fifty day moving average price is $18.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.69. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of -13.30 and a beta of 0.78. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $16.10 and a 12-month high of $41.94.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 30.24% and a negative return on equity of 116.09%. The firm had revenue of $171.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $187.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.30) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.55, for a total value of $97,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 128,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,516,671.50. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 137,465 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.19, for a total value of $2,775,418.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 343,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,933,912.27. This trade represents a 28.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 169,090 shares of company stock worth $3,403,832 over the last three months. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Corton Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $364,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 159,613 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,763,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 12.0% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 8,111 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 866 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,661,823 shares of the company's stock worth $46,076,000 after purchasing an additional 184,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 9.9% in the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 20,287 shares of the company's stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,828 shares during the period. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).