Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Trading Down 5.9% After Analyst Downgrade

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)’s stock price traded down 5.9% on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $57.00 to $48.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Apellis Pharmaceuticals traded as low as $41.03 and last traded at $41.03. 151,572 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 1,526,521 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.60.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on APLS. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Wedbush decreased their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $57.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Mizuho cut their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. 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 data from MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 78,907 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.35, for a total transaction of $3,341,711.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,115,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,261,880.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.22, for a total transaction of $379,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,900,828.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 78,907 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.35, for a total value of $3,341,711.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,115,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,261,880.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 448,012 shares of company stock worth $26,015,139 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of APLS. Sippican Capital Advisors raised its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 16,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $958,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 43,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,666,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 23,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $883,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 8.3% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.82 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 3.02.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.54) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.54). The company had revenue of $172.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $163.37 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 79.67% and a negative return on equity of 160.77%. The firm’s revenue was up 284.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.56) EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.12 earnings per share 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).