Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) General Counsel David O. Watson Sells 4,965 Shares

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) General Counsel David O. Watson sold 4,965 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.70, for a total value of $142,495.50. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 107,756 shares in the company, valued at $3,092,597.20. This represents a 4.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $27.69 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.64 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.48. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.34 and a 12 month high of $71.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 4.36 and a quick ratio of 3.73.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.46) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by ($0.14). Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 34.97% and a negative return on equity of 103.11%. The firm had revenue of $196.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $200.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.17) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Eastern Bank lifted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 87.0% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,884,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,036,000 after purchasing an additional 735,160 shares during the last quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 114.0% during the third quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC now owns 100,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,895,000 after buying an additional 53,467 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $390,000. Finally, Old West Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,953,000. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on APLS shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $63.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Eight equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.65.

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).