Wedbush Analysts Reduce Earnings Estimates for APLS

Key Points

• Wedbush Analysts have lowered their FY2027 earnings estimate for Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $0.12 to ($0.33) per share, while the consensus estimate for the current full-year earnings remains at ($1.70) per share.
• Several investment firms have varied ratings on Apellis Pharmaceuticals, with JPMorgan raising its price target from $35 to $37 and most analysts rating the stock as a "Buy" or "Hold."
• Insider trading activity includes significant share sales by company executives, with insiders collectively selling approximately 297,921 shares valued at over $8 million in the last three months.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Wedbush decreased their FY2027 earnings estimates for shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, October 14th. Wedbush analyst L. Chico now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of ($0.33) for the year, down from their prior forecast of $0.12. The consensus estimate for Apellis Pharmaceuticals' current full-year earnings is ($1.70) per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Apellis Pharmaceuticals' FY2028 earnings at $0.92 EPS.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.47.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 8.9%

Shares of NASDAQ APLS opened at $25.22 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.15. The firm has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of -13.86 and a beta of 0.69. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $16.10 and a 1 year high of $35.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 3.16.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last issued 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 business had revenue of $171.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $187.91 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.24% and a negative return on equity of 116.09%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.30) EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3,938.7% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,252 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,221 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 80.0% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,924 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 141.2% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,682 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,570 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. lifted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 21.9% during the first quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 3,185 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 15.6% during the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,855 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.34, for a total transaction of $121,700.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 118,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,889,888.20. The trade was a 4.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director A. Sinclair Dunlop sold 31,092 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.72, for a total transaction of $737,502.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,837 shares in the company, valued at $91,013.64. This trade represents a 89.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 297,921 shares of company stock valued at $8,084,466 in the last three months. 6.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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