Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Short Interest Up 7.3% in January

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) saw a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 21,480,000 shares, an increase of 7.3% from the December 31st total of 20,010,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,100,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.9 days.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 2,824 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total transaction of $83,364.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 415,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,271,316.40. This trade represents a 0.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Caroline Baumal sold 2,816 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.81, for a total transaction of $95,208.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 55,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,878,483.60. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 60,002 shares of company stock valued at $1,800,119. 6.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APLS. Braidwell LP lifted its holdings 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 worth $90,130,000 after purchasing an additional 2,513,383 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in 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 valued at $61,845,000 after acquiring an additional 1,409,707 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 51.6% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,760,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,084,000 after purchasing an additional 939,289 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,884,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,036,000 after buying an additional 735,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sphera Funds Management LTD. purchased a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,226,000. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:APLS opened at $28.49 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $32.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.70. 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 has a 12 month low of $24.34 and a 12 month high of $71.90. The company has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.03 and a beta of 0.94.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.46) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $196.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $200.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.17) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on APLS shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $63.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $92.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $61.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.71.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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).