Mizuho Lowers Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Price Target to $52.00

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) had its target price cut by analysts at Mizuho from $60.00 to $52.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Mizuho’s target price indicates a potential upside of 17.67% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on APLS. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Wedbush dropped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $57.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. UBS Group increased their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.40.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

APLS stock opened at $44.19 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $56.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.53. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $19.83 and a 12 month high of $94.75. The company has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.86 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.50, a current ratio of 3.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 781 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.77, for a total value of $52,928.37. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 103,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,006,740.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.77, for a total transaction of $52,928.37. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 103,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,006,740.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 3,962 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.77, for a total transaction of $268,504.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 313,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,256,873.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 376,427 shares of company stock valued at $23,169,639. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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