Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Shares Down 3.5% on Analyst Downgrade

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) dropped 3.5% during mid-day trading on Monday after Mizuho lowered their price target on the stock from $60.00 to $52.00. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Apellis Pharmaceuticals traded as low as $48.01 and last traded at $48.11. Approximately 88,800 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 94% from the average daily volume of 1,458,726 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.86.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 781 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.77, for a total transaction of $52,928.37. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 103,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,006,740.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 781 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.77, for a total value of $52,928.37. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 103,390 shares in the company, valued at $7,006,740.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 69,107 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.17, for a total transaction of $3,743,526.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,115,983 shares in the company, valued at $60,452,799.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 376,427 shares of company stock worth $23,169,639. Company insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 69.0% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 649 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 564.2% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 797 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 29.3% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 687 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.50, a current ratio of 3.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.86 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.53.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.73) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.73). Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 178.60% and a negative net margin of 133.34%. The company had revenue of $146.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $143.34 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.50) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 545.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.34 EPS for the current year.

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).