Needham & Company LLC Cuts Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Price Target to $60.00

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC from $85.00 to $60.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's price target would indicate a potential upside of 113.22% from the stock's current price.

APLS has been the subject of a number of other reports. William Blair initiated coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $61.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $53.24.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:APLS traded up $0.06 on Wednesday, hitting $28.14. The stock had a trading volume of 1,989,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,772,184. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $24.34 and a 1 year high of $73.80. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $31.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.26. The stock has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.28 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 4.18 and a current ratio of 5.08.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.46) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by ($0.14). Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 138.32% and a negative net margin of 52.99%. The company had revenue of $196.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $200.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.17) EPS. The business's revenue was up 78.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director A. Sinclair Dunlop sold 37,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total transaction of $1,340,510.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,623,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $27,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $89,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $56,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 34.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,632 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the period. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC increased its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 300.0% during the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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).