Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 21,480,000 shares, a growth of 7.3% from the December 31st total of 20,010,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,100,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on APLS shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $43.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.71.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:APLS traded down $0.51 on Monday, reaching $28.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 210,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,887,978. The company has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.00 and a beta of 0.94. 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 simple moving average of $32.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.76. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $24.34 and a 52-week high of $71.90.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.46) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by ($0.14). Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 103.11% and a negative net margin of 34.97%. The business had revenue of $196.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $200.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($1.17) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 2,824 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total transaction of $83,364.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 415,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,271,316.40. The trade was a 0.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO James George Chopas sold 1,096 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.43, for a total value of $33,351.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 48,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,464,839.34. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 60,002 shares of company stock worth $1,800,119 over the last quarter. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $56,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 34.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 781 shares during the period. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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).