Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Trading Down 4.9% Following Analyst Downgrade

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) shares were down 4.9% during trading on Tuesday after Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $24.00 to $21.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. Apellis Pharmaceuticals traded as low as $17.52 and last traded at $17.14. Approximately 380,776 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 2,140,498 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.03.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target 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, March 3rd. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wedbush reduced their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $29.00 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 issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $45.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,569 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.10, for a total transaction of $139,781.90. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 138,730 shares in the company, valued at $3,482,123. This represents a 3.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 2,824 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total value of $83,364.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 415,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,271,316.40. This trade represents a 0.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,005 shares of company stock valued at $299,037. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in APLS. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2,707.1% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 786 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 357.2% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $83,000. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 70.0% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,223 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 1,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1,819.2% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,992 shares of the company's stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 3,784 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company's stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.3 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.62 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $22.91 and a 200 day moving average of $27.72. The company has a current ratio of 4.36, a quick ratio of 3.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.29) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.37) by $0.08. The business had revenue of $212.50 million for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 45.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.73) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

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).