Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Stock Rating Lowered by Robert W. Baird

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) was downgraded by research analysts at Robert W. Baird from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective (down from $48.00) on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, January 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.00.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

APLS opened at $40.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 310.72 and a beta of 0.26. The business’s fifty day moving average is $21.50 and its 200-day moving average is $22.71. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $16.10 and a 52-week high of $40.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 2.70 and a current ratio of 3.14.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by $0.86. The firm had revenue of $199.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $199.28 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 2.23% and a return on equity of 8.20%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.29) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 10,287 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 transaction of $223,947.99. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 93,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,044,224.77. The trade was a 9.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Cedric Francois sold 27,192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $591,969.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 286,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,227,199.65. This trade represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 115,537 shares of company stock valued at $2,486,082. 6.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 206.8% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 1,373 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 141.2% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,570 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 338.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 4,191 shares during the period. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apellis Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Biogen agreed to acquire Apellis for about $5.6 billion, offering $41.00/share in cash plus a non-transferable CVR tied to SYFOVRE sales — this is the main driver of the large share rally. Biogen to buy Apellis for $5.6B (Reuters)
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage updates pushed some price targets up to the deal level (Barclays raised its PT to $41 from $24), which supports the takeover valuation. Barclays raises PT to $41 (Benzinga)
• Neutral Sentiment: Several firms reiterated neutral/market?perform ratings with price targets clustered near $41, reflecting the deal price rather than new upside from standalone operations. Analyst reaffirms (Benzinga)
• Neutral Sentiment: APLS saw extremely high intraday volume and a multi?day surge after the deal announcement; such spikes often normalize as the market digests deal terms and regulatory/closing risk. APLS moves 135% higher (Zacks)
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple shareholder law firms have opened investigations and flagged potential challenges to the adequacy of the $41 per?share price and the sale process — this creates legal/closing risk and could pressure sentiment. M&A class action investigation (PR Newswire)
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades followed the deal news: Needham cut APLS from Buy to Hold and JP Morgan issued a downgrade in subsequent coverage — these moves can weigh on near?term trading, especially if analysts see limited upside beyond the deal price. Needham downgrades to Hold (American Banking News) JP Morgan downgrades (MSN)

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.