Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after Bank of America upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a buy rating. The stock had previously closed at $20.47, but opened at $21.64. Bank of America now has a $28.00 price target on the stock. Apellis Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $21.0130, with a volume of 482,150 shares traded.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 19th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 6th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 2,277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total transaction of $50,526.63. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,158,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,700,879.61. This trade represents a 0.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,780 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total value of $128,258.20. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 98,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,193,215.22. This represents a 5.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 37,370 shares of company stock valued at $830,090 in the last 90 days. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Simplify Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,419,000. Corton Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $364,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 43.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 100,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,838,000 after buying an additional 30,507 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,135,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 91.9% in the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 485,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,406,000 after acquiring an additional 232,506 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 3.10, a current ratio of 3.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $22.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.52. The firm has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a PE ratio of 67.96 and a beta of 0.31.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up 133.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.46) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.