Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Hits New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $23.77 and last traded at $23.72, with a volume of 397600 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APLS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wedbush decreased their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.53.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $27.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.90. The stock has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.58 and a beta of 0.92.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.29) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.37) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $212.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.92 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 34.97% and a negative return on equity of 103.11%. Apellis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 45.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.73) EPS. On average, analysts expect that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 6,247 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.70, for a total transaction of $179,288.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 307,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,822,810.50. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO James George Chopas sold 1,096 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,464,839.34. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 66,054 shares of company stock worth $1,952,719. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APLS. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 956,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,581,000 after acquiring an additional 9,328 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 311.2% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 31,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $905,000 after purchasing an additional 23,749 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 52.9% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 159,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,606,000 after purchasing an additional 55,282 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $422,000. Finally, Braidwell LP increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 410.8% during the 3rd quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 3,125,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,130,000 after buying an additional 2,513,383 shares during the period. 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).