David Watson Sells 5,780 Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Stock

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) General Counsel David Watson sold 5,780 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total value of $128,258.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 98,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,193,215.22. This represents a 5.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:APLS traded up $0.20 during trading on Thursday, reaching $20.53. 2,191,474 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,495,767. The stock has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.23 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 3.10 and a current ratio of 3.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $22.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.41. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.10 and a 52-week high of $31.17.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.64. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 4.43%.The firm had revenue of $458.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $364.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.46) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 133.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $24.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright dropped their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $57.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.65.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Corton Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $364,000. Simplify Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $2,419,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 43.5% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 100,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,838,000 after acquiring an additional 30,507 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $1,135,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 91.9% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 485,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,406,000 after purchasing an additional 232,506 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

About Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc, traded as NASDAQ:APLS, is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies targeting the complement cascade for the treatment of rare and debilitating diseases. The company’s research and development efforts center on modulating complement proteins to address a range of ophthalmologic, hematologic and renal conditions. Apellis leverages its proprietary compstatin technology platform to design targeted inhibitors intended to improve patient outcomes and quality of life.

The company’s lead marketed product, Syfovre (pegcetacoplan), is an intravitreal complement C3 inhibitor approved for geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration, with ongoing investigations in other retinal disorders.