Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) General Counsel Sells $101,118.89 in Stock

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) General Counsel David O. Watson sold 3,323 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.43, for a total transaction of $101,118.89. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 144,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,412,167.42. The trade was a 2.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:APLS opened at $30.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.78 and a beta of 0.94. Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.34 and a 1-year high of $71.90. The company’s fifty day moving average is $32.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 3.73 and a current ratio of 4.36.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.46) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.32) by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $196.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $200.00 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 103.11% and a negative net margin of 34.97%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 78.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($1.17) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on APLS. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $61.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $63.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.71.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 51.6% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,760,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,084,000 after purchasing an additional 939,289 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 26,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $842,000 after acquiring an additional 2,956 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3,862.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 104,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,328,000 after acquiring an additional 101,655 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $254,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 135.6% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $949,000 after acquiring an additional 17,115 shares during the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).