Insider Selling: Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) CFO Sells 2,170 Shares of Stock

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 2,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.70, for a total transaction of $62,279.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,528,470. The trade was a 2.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 4.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ APLS opened at $29.03 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.30 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.45. The company has a current ratio of 4.36, a quick ratio of 3.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.34 and a 12-month 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). 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $200.00 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($1.17) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.72 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. HighVista Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% during the second quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC now owns 7,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 6,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 21.6% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on APLS shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $43.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $63.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped 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 report on Wednesday, November 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.65.

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).