Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 23,180,000 shares, a growth of 11.5% from the October 31st total of 20,790,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,010,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.7 days.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 4.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ APLS opened at $35.42 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a PE ratio of -17.45 and a beta of 0.87. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $24.34 and a one year high of $73.80. The company has a current ratio of 4.36, a quick ratio of 3.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $28.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.20.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, Director A. Sinclair Dunlop sold 37,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total value of $1,340,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,623,000. This represents a 27.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $56,000. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 34.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 300.0% in 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. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on APLS shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Apellis Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $92.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $43.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.94.

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).