Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Short Interest Up 7.3% in December

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 21,480,000 shares, an increase of 7.3% from the December 15th total of 20,010,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,100,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.9 days.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of APLS traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $29.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,510,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,047,200. The company has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.74 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 4.36 and a quick ratio of 3.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.35. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $24.34 and a 52-week high of $71.90.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last issued its 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). The business had revenue of $196.83 million for 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 was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.17) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Caroline Baumal sold 2,816 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.81, for a total transaction of $95,208.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 55,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,878,483.60. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 4,965 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.70, for a total value of $142,495.50. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 107,756 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,092,597.20. This represents a 4.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 17,308 shares of company stock valued at $511,406. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APLS. Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,632 shares of the company's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,404 shares of the company's stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 781 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on APLS shares. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI raised Apellis Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.65.

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).