Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $49.94.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on APLS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $64.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $43.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. William Blair began coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $63.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director A. Sinclair Dunlop sold 37,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total value of $1,340,510.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 100,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,623,000. The trade was a 27.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APLS. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1,300.8% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,586 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 3,330 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 107.7% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 16,677 shares of the company's stock worth $981,000 after purchasing an additional 8,647 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $588,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 4.7% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 20,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,179,000 after buying an additional 903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $266,000. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ APLS traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $32.63. 1,624,357 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,929,905. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $28.83 and a 200-day moving average of $35.48. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $24.34 and a one year high of $73.80. The stock has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a PE ratio of -15.72 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 4.36, a quick ratio of 3.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.46) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.32) by ($0.14). Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 34.97% and a negative return on equity of 103.11%. The business had revenue of $196.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $200.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.17) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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).