Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $27.30, but opened at $26.41. Apellis Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $23.31, with a volume of 636,638 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 6th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. HC Wainwright lowered their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $57.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.94.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 15.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.84 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 3.10 and a current ratio of 3.54. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $22.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.38.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $458.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $364.58 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 4.43%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 133.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.46) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.49, for a total value of $122,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 103,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,540,347.70. This represents a 4.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.03, for a total value of $280,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 110,936 shares in the company, valued at $3,109,536.08. This trade represents a 8.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $629,150. 6.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Deep Track Capital LP lifted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Deep Track Capital LP now owns 8,000,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,049,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,382 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 46.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,976,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,898,995 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 11,373.8% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,704,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,821,000 after purchasing an additional 2,681,263 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,661,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,076,000 after purchasing an additional 184,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc boosted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 96.0% in the third quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,650,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,975,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298,055 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

About Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc, traded as NASDAQ:APLS, is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies targeting the complement cascade for the treatment of rare and debilitating diseases. The company’s research and development efforts center on modulating complement proteins to address a range of ophthalmologic, hematologic and renal conditions. Apellis leverages its proprietary compstatin technology platform to design targeted inhibitors intended to improve patient outcomes and quality of life.

The company’s lead marketed product, Syfovre (pegcetacoplan), is an intravitreal complement C3 inhibitor approved for geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration, with ongoing investigations in other retinal disorders.