Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Hits New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $23.77 and last traded at $23.72, with a volume of 397600 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APLS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Wedbush lowered their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.53.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $27.45 and a 200-day moving average of $29.90. The company has a quick ratio of 3.73, a current ratio of 4.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The stock has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of -11.58 and a beta of 0.92.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.29) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.37) by $0.08. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 103.11% and a negative net margin of 34.97%. The company had revenue of $212.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.92 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.73) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 45.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Caroline Baumal sold 2,816 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.81, for a total value of $95,208.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 55,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,878,483.60. This trade represents a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO James George Chopas sold 1,096 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.43, for a total value of $33,351.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 48,138 shares in the company, valued at $1,464,839.34. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 66,054 shares of company stock valued at $1,952,719. 6.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in APLS. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2,707.1% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 786 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 357.2% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $83,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 70.0% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is currently 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).