Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Given “Buy” Rating at 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 firm currently has a $85.00 target price on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on APLS. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $67.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Mizuho reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $77.93.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of APLS opened at $47.93 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $58.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a PE ratio of -10.70 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.50, a current ratio of 3.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $19.83 and a 52-week high of $94.75.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.73) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.73). Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 133.34% and a negative return on equity of 178.60%. The company had revenue of $146.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $143.34 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.50) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 545.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 1,431 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.77, for a total transaction of $96,978.87. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 93,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,325,516.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 69,107 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $60,452,799.11. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 1,431 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.77, for a total transaction of $96,978.87. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,325,516.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 381,011 shares of company stock valued at $23,463,657 over the last three months. 7.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sippican Capital Advisors grew its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 16,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $958,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 43,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,666,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 69.0% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 23,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $883,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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).