Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Reaches New 52-Week Low - Here's Why

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $18.21 and last traded at $19.45, with a volume of 351369 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.97.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on APLS shares. Wedbush lowered their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.59.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 3.4 %

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 business's fifty day moving average price is $24.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a PE ratio of -9.57 and a beta of 0.85.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.29) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.37) by $0.08. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 103.11% and a negative net margin of 34.97%. The firm had revenue of $212.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.92 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.73) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 45.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share 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 dated 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 directly owns 307,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,822,810.50. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO James George Chopas sold 1,096 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.43, for a total value of $33,351.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 48,138 shares in the company, valued at $1,464,839.34. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 63,238 shares of company stock valued at $1,857,510 over the last three months. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of APLS. Boxer Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,504,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 266,361.5% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,385,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,214,000 after buying an additional 1,385,080 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 969.6% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,518,827 shares of the company's stock worth $48,465,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376,832 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,014,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,461,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.29% of the company's stock.

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).