Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) General Counsel Sells $139,781.90 in Stock

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,569 shares of the 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of APLS stock traded up $0.10 on Monday, reaching $25.14. 1,360,095 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,924,505. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $29.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.01. The stock has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a PE ratio of -12.38 and a beta of 0.92. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $23.77 and a one year high of $63.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 4.36 and a quick ratio of 3.73.

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

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on APLS. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Wedbush dropped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. 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. According to MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $45.53.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 735,160 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $824,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 52.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 159,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,606,000 after acquiring an additional 55,282 shares in the last quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,953,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3,862.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 104,287 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,328,000 after purchasing an additional 101,655 shares during the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is 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).