Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) CAO Sells $22,472.10 in Stock

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) CAO James George Chopas sold 783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.70, for a total transaction of $22,472.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 37,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,072,174.60. This trade represents a 2.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of APLS stock opened at $29.73 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.65 and a beta of 0.94. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.34 and a 52-week high of $71.90. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $31.88 and its 200 day moving average is $33.42.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.32) by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $196.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $200.00 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 34.97% and a negative return on equity of 103.11%. The company’s revenue was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($1.17) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Braidwell LP lifted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 410.8% during the third quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 3,125,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,130,000 after buying an additional 2,513,383 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 191.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,144,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,845,000 after acquiring an additional 1,409,707 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,884,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,036,000 after acquiring an additional 735,160 shares in the last quarter. Sphera Funds Management LTD. purchased a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $6,226,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 337.3% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 246,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,177,000 after acquiring an additional 190,420 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $63.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $92.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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).