Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Shares Up 2.9%

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) rose 2.9% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $53.06 and last traded at $53.00. Approximately 141,627 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 1,482,369 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APLS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.60.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.7 %

The company has a quick ratio of 2.50, a current ratio of 3.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company’s fifty day moving average is $61.22 and its 200-day moving average is $57.00.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.73). The firm had revenue of $146.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $143.34 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 133.34% and a negative return on equity of 178.60%. Apellis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 545.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($1.50) earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 69,107 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.17, for a total value of $3,743,526.19. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,115,983 shares in the company, valued at $60,452,799.11. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 781 shares of the company’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 transaction of $52,928.37. Following the completion of 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 69,107 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.17, for a total value of $3,743,526.19. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,115,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,452,799.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 406,651 shares of company stock worth $25,130,257. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 315,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,029,000 after purchasing an additional 17,287 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at $820,000. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 391.2% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 884 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 67.0% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 41,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,098,000 after buying an additional 16,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 77,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,951,000 after buying an additional 3,835 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).