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

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $33.00, but opened at $30.00. Apellis Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $29.08, with a volume of 976,508 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on APLS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $64.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $63.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, William Blair began coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.94.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 14.7 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.82. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.87 and a beta of 0.94.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last released its 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $200.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($1.17) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 78.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Caroline Baumal sold 2,816 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.81, for a total transaction of $95,208.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 55,560 shares in the company, valued at $1,878,483.60. This trade represents a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in APLS. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 123,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,740,000 after purchasing an additional 2,644 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 22,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $844,000 after buying an additional 2,473 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $522,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 45,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,735,000 after acquiring an additional 2,820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 46.7% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 4,060 shares during the period. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).