Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Downgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group to "Neutral"

The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Free Report) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $36.00 target price on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $64.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $63.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, November 4th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $43.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $49.94.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.87 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $34.53. The stock had a trading volume of 2,328,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,997,313. The company has a current ratio of 4.36, a quick ratio of 3.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of -16.93 and a beta of 0.94. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $24.34 and a twelve month high of $73.80. The stock's 50 day moving average is $29.78 and its 200 day moving average is $34.67.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.46) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $196.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $200.00 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 34.97% and a negative return on equity of 103.11%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($1.17) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Braidwell LP grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 410.8% in the third 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 last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 191.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,144,415 shares of the company's stock worth $61,845,000 after buying an additional 1,409,707 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 452,753 shares during the period. Sphera Funds Management LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $6,226,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 337.3% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 246,880 shares of the company's stock worth $9,177,000 after buying an additional 190,420 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).