Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Short Interest Down 5.5% in September

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,280,000 shares, a decline of 5.5% from the August 31st total of 16,170,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,590,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 9.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $66.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Mizuho cut their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $96.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. HC Wainwright dropped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $92.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.20.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

APLS opened at $27.74 on Wednesday. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $26.96 and a 12-month high of $73.80. The company’s 50 day moving average is $36.84 and its 200 day moving average is $42.30. The company has a current ratio of 5.08, a quick ratio of 4.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The company has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.02 and a beta of 0.88.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.30) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.33) by $0.03. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 138.32% and a negative net margin of 52.99%. The company had revenue of $199.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.02) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 110.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.34 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, Director A. Sinclair Dunlop sold 37,000 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total transaction of $1,340,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,623,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $89,000. nVerses Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 300.0% during the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 299.9% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 3,113 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,000. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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).