Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $70.20.

APLS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $43.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, September 20th.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.8 %

APLS traded down $0.49 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $27.02. 750,749 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,605,276. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $36.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.76 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 5.08 and a quick ratio of 4.18. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $26.69 and a 52 week high of $73.80.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.30) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.33) by $0.03. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 138.32% and a negative net margin of 52.99%. The firm had revenue of $199.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.02) EPS. The business's revenue was up 110.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director A. Sinclair Dunlop sold 37,000 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total value of $1,340,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,623,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,555,678 shares of the company's stock worth $572,003,000 after purchasing an additional 85,701 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 38.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,460,339 shares of the company's stock valued at $147,277,000 after acquiring an additional 677,098 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 47.7% during the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 1,401,190 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,750,000 after acquiring an additional 452,753 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. lifted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 44.2% during the fourth quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 885,165 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,986,000 after acquiring an additional 271,122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bellevue Group AG increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 821,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,193,000 after purchasing an additional 27,959 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).