Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Reaches New 12-Month Low - Here's Why

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $24.33 and last traded at $25.13, with a volume of 326662 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $26.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APLS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $92.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $61.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wedbush decreased their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $45.53.

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Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.34 and a beta of 0.96. 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 company's fifty day moving average price is $29.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.39.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 6,247 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.70, for a total transaction of $179,288.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 307,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,822,810.50. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 4,965 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.70, for a total transaction of $142,495.50. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 107,756 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,092,597.20. The trade was a 4.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 60,365 shares of company stock worth $1,810,479. 6.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,222,222 shares of the company's stock worth $390,011,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111,111 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,884,730 shares of the company's stock worth $112,036,000 after acquiring an additional 735,160 shares in the last quarter. Braidwell LP raised its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 410.8% during the third quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 3,125,183 shares of the company's stock worth $90,130,000 after acquiring an additional 2,513,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised 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 worth $88,084,000 after acquiring an additional 939,289 shares in the last quarter. 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).