Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Short Interest Update

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 21,810,000 shares, a drop of 5.9% from the November 15th total of 23,180,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,240,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on APLS shares. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $64.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $92.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.94.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Braidwell LP lifted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 410.8% during the third quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 3,125,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,130,000 after purchasing an additional 2,513,383 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 191.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,144,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,845,000 after buying an additional 1,409,707 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,810,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,229,000 after acquiring an additional 22,609 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp increased its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 47.7% during the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 1,401,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,750,000 after acquiring an additional 452,753 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 956,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,581,000 after purchasing an additional 9,328 shares during the period. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:APLS opened at $33.19 on Monday. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $24.34 and a fifty-two week high of $73.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 3.73 and a current ratio of 4.36. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $29.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.35 and a beta of 0.94.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.46) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $196.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $200.00 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 103.11% and a negative net margin of 34.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 78.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.17) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.72 EPS for the current year.

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).