Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Earns Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reissued their buy rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) in a research report report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $85.00 price objective on the stock.

APLS has been the subject of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, February 5th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a buy rating and issued a $92.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $77.93.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 4.0 %

Shares of APLS stock opened at $49.86 on Thursday. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $19.83 and a 12 month high of $94.75. The company has a quick ratio of 2.50, a current ratio of 3.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.35.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.73) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.73). Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 133.34% and a negative return on equity of 178.60%. The business had revenue of $146.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $143.34 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.50) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 545.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, insider Nur Nicholson sold 835 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.14, for a total transaction of $53,556.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 67,507 shares in the company, valued at $4,329,898.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, insider Nur Nicholson sold 835 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.14, for a total transaction of $53,556.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 67,507 shares in the company, valued at $4,329,898.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 69,107 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.17, for a total transaction of $3,743,526.19. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,115,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,452,799.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 381,011 shares of company stock worth $23,463,657 over the last 90 days. 7.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in APLS. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 69.0% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 564.2% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 797 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 677 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 29.3% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 687 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

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).