Mizuho Issues Positive Forecast for Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Stock Price

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) had its price target upped by Mizuho from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on APLS. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Wedbush dropped their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Twelve 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.72.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ APLS traded down $0.25 during trading on Thursday, hitting $19.90. 93,017 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,966,426. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 153.09 and a beta of 0.26. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $16.10 and a 12-month high of $30.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 2.70 and a current ratio of 3.14. The business has a 50 day moving average of $22.60 and a 200-day moving average of $23.62.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by $0.86. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 2.23% and a return on equity of 8.20%. The firm had revenue of $199.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.28 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.29) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 7,832 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $170,502.64. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 88,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,927,319.87. This trade represents a 8.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 27,192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total value of $591,969.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 286,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,227,199.65. The trade was a 8.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 120,537 shares of company stock valued at $2,608,532 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 225,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,677,000 after buying an additional 42,960 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 96,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,424,000 after buying an additional 19,500 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $366,000. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 27,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $680,000 after acquiring an additional 4,013 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 47.3% in the fourth quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP now owns 13,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 4,225 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.