Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Reaches New 1-Year Low - Time to Sell?

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $23.77 and last traded at $23.72, with a volume of 397600 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $24.26.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APLS has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Wedbush dropped their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.53.

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Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 3.73, a current ratio of 4.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.96 and a beta of 0.92. The firm's fifty day moving average is $27.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.59.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.37) by $0.08. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 34.97% and a negative return on equity of 103.11%. The company had revenue of $212.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $197.92 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.73) earnings per share. Apellis Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 45.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CAO James George Chopas sold 1,096 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.43, for a total transaction of $33,351.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 48,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,464,839.34. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,569 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.10, for a total transaction of $139,781.90. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 138,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,482,123. The trade was a 3.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 66,054 shares of company stock valued at $1,952,719. 6.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in APLS. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,222,222 shares of the company's stock worth $390,011,000 after buying an additional 1,111,111 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,046,025 shares of the company's stock worth $320,569,000 after acquiring an additional 230,450 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,884,730 shares of the company's stock valued at $112,036,000 after acquiring an additional 735,160 shares during the period. Braidwell LP raised its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 410.8% in the 3rd quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 3,125,183 shares of the company's stock worth $90,130,000 after purchasing an additional 2,513,383 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 51.6% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,760,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,084,000 after purchasing an additional 939,289 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).