Apellis Pharmaceuticals (APLS) Competitors

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) and Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) are both medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, dividends, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership and media sentiment.

Do analysts prefer APLS or ASND?

Apellis Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus price target of $34.12, indicating a potential upside of 37.29%. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a consensus price target of $244.36, indicating a potential upside of 24.94%. Given Apellis Pharmaceuticals' higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Apellis Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Ascendis Pharma A/S.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Apellis Pharmaceuticals	0 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.58
Ascendis Pharma A/S	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Which has more risk and volatility, APLS or ASND?

Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.73, suggesting that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ascendis Pharma A/S has a beta of 0.39, suggesting that its stock price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, APLS or ASND?

Apellis Pharmaceuticals has higher revenue and earnings than Ascendis Pharma A/S. Ascendis Pharma A/S is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Apellis Pharmaceuticals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Apellis Pharmaceuticals	$781.37M	4.02	-$197.88M	-$1.82	-13.65
Ascendis Pharma A/S	$393.54M	30.42	-$409.12M	-$5.16	-37.90

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in APLS or ASND?

96.3% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.8% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 40.0% of Ascendis Pharma A/S shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media refer more to APLS or ASND?

In the previous week, Apellis Pharmaceuticals had 4 more articles in the media than Ascendis Pharma A/S. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for Apellis Pharmaceuticals and 10 mentions for Ascendis Pharma A/S. Apellis Pharmaceuticals' average media sentiment score of 1.42 beat Ascendis Pharma A/S's score of 1.15 indicating that Apellis Pharmaceuticals is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Apellis Pharmaceuticals	10 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ascendis Pharma A/S	6 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is APLS or ASND more profitable?

Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a net margin of -30.24% compared to Ascendis Pharma A/S's net margin of -54.94%. Ascendis Pharma A/S's return on equity of 0.00% beat Apellis Pharmaceuticals' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Apellis Pharmaceuticals	-30.24%	-116.09%	-26.72%
Ascendis Pharma A/S	-54.94%	N/A	-24.31%

Summary

Apellis Pharmaceuticals beats Ascendis Pharma A/S on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.