Apellis Pharmaceuticals’ (APLS) Hold Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reiterated by analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on APLS. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Bank of America upgraded Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Wedbush decreased their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.42.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of APLS traded up $23.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $40.27. 75,214,330 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,010,369. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 309.75 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 2.70, a current ratio of 3.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $16.10 and a 12-month high of $40.45. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $20.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.47.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last issued its earnings results 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. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 8.20% and a net margin of 2.23%.The company had revenue of $199.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $199.28 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.29) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apellis Pharmaceuticals news, CAO James George Chopas sold 2,064 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $44,933.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 49,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,254.85. The trade was a 3.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Caroline Baumal sold 2,797 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total value of $60,890.69. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 86,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,883,692.79. The trade was a 3.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 115,537 shares of company stock worth $2,486,082 in the last quarter. 6.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APLS. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 96,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,415,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 8,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Xponance LLC grew its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 18,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,000 after buying an additional 681 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 857 shares during the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.