Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) CEO Cedric Francois Sells 175,037 Shares

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) CEO Cedric Francois sold 175,037 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.19, for a total transaction of $4,934,293.03. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 357,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,089,454.71. This represents a 32.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Cedric Francois also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, August 28th, Cedric Francois sold 49,963 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.39, for a total transaction of $1,418,449.57.
• On Thursday, July 17th, Cedric Francois sold 19,725 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.21, for a total transaction of $398,642.25.
• On Tuesday, July 15th, Cedric Francois sold 1,900 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.09, for a total transaction of $38,171.00.
• On Monday, July 14th, Cedric Francois sold 137,465 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.19, for a total transaction of $2,775,418.35.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.7%

APLS stock opened at $27.57 on Friday. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.10 and a 52-week high of $41.94. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 3.77 and a quick ratio of 3.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.15 and a beta of 0.78.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported ($0.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by $0.11. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 30.24% and a negative return on equity of 116.09%. The business had revenue of $171.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $187.91 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.30) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on APLS shares. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.12.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APLS. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3,938.7% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,221 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 80.0% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,924 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 21.9% in the first quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 3,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 15.6% in the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 655 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 338.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 4,191 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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).