Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Shares Down 3.5% on Analyst Downgrade

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)’s stock price dropped 3.5% during trading on Monday after Mizuho lowered their price target on the stock from $60.00 to $52.00. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Apellis Pharmaceuticals traded as low as $48.01 and last traded at $48.11. Approximately 88,800 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 94% from the average daily volume of 1,458,726 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.86.

APLS has been the topic of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, February 5th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $57.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.40.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 781 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.77, for a total transaction of $52,928.37. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 103,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,006,740.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 781 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.77, for a total transaction of $52,928.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 103,390 shares in the company, valued at $7,006,740.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director A. Sinclair Dunlop sold 18,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.18, for a total transaction of $1,068,179.58. Following the sale, the director now owns 173,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,949,205.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 376,427 shares of company stock valued at $23,169,639 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 254.5% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 84,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,973,000 after buying an additional 60,741 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 69.1% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 23,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,363,000 after acquiring an additional 9,472 shares during the period. Peregrine Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $5,447,000. Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $4,599,000. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $262,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 7.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.86 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s 50-day moving average is $56.94 and its 200 day moving average is $57.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 3.10 and a quick ratio of 2.50.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.73) EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.73). Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 133.34% and a negative return on equity of 178.60%. The business had revenue of $146.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $143.34 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.50) earnings per share. Apellis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 545.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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).