Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Hits New 52-Week Low - Should You Sell?

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $25.25 and last traded at $26.42, with a volume of 548054 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $28.56.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on APLS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $64.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $66.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $43.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.41.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $31.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.40. The company has a quick ratio of 4.18, a current ratio of 5.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The company has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.26 and a beta of 0.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director A. Sinclair Dunlop sold 37,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total transaction of $1,340,510.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 100,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,623,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 191.9% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,144,415 shares of the company's stock worth $61,845,000 after purchasing an additional 1,409,707 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp increased its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 47.7% during the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 1,401,190 shares of the company's stock worth $53,750,000 after buying an additional 452,753 shares during the period. Iron Triangle Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth approximately $32,329,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 6.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 345,195 shares of the company's stock worth $13,242,000 after buying an additional 22,273 shares during the period. Finally, Altitude Crest Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 88.7% during the first quarter. Altitude Crest Partners Inc. now owns 287,277 shares of the company's stock worth $16,886,000 after buying an additional 135,077 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company's stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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).