Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) General Counsel Sells $20,516.40 in Stock

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) General Counsel David O. Watson sold 695 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total value of $20,516.40. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 144,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,259,706.48. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ APLS traded down $0.52 on Monday, reaching $28.49. The company had a trading volume of 1,501,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,930,394. The stock's 50 day moving average is $32.21 and its 200-day moving average is $32.76. The stock has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.03 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 3.73, a current ratio of 4.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.34 and a 52 week high of $71.90.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.46) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.32) by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $196.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $200.00 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 34.97% and a negative return on equity of 103.11%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($1.17) EPS. Equities analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APLS. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $2,350,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 337.3% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 246,880 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,177,000 after acquiring an additional 190,420 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky acquired a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $725,000. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $609,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 15.5% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 27,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $796,000 after acquiring an additional 3,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on APLS shares. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $36.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.71.

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).