Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) CEO Sells $179,288.90 in Stock

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) CEO Cedric Francois sold 6,247 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 307,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,822,810.50. This trade represents a 1.99 % 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.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

APLS opened at $29.73 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.42. The company has a current ratio of 4.36, a quick ratio of 3.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The stock has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a PE ratio of -14.65 and a beta of 0.94. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.34 and a 1 year high of $71.90.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.46) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $196.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $200.00 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 34.97% and a negative return on equity of 103.11%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.17) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.73 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on APLS shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI upgraded Apellis Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America reduced their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $61.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $43.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.65.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Braidwell LP raised its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 410.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 191.9% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,144,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,845,000 after acquiring an additional 1,409,707 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,884,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,036,000 after acquiring an additional 735,160 shares during the period. Sphera Funds Management LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,226,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 337.3% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 246,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,177,000 after purchasing an additional 190,420 shares during the last quarter. 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).