Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS)

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 6,398 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 521% compared to the average volume of 1,030 put options.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 5.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:APLS traded down $1.19 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $20.14. 524,301 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,034,284. The company has a current ratio of 3.54, a quick ratio of 3.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $22.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.44. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $16.10 and a 52 week high of $31.17. The company has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.63 and a beta of 0.31.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Timothy Eugene Sullivan sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.03, for a total value of $280,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 110,936 shares in the company, valued at $3,109,536.08. The trade was a 8.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel David O. Watson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.49, for a total value of $122,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 103,730 shares in the company, valued at $2,540,347.70. The trade was a 4.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $629,150. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of APLS. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 207.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 29,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $667,000 after acquiring an additional 19,944 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 26.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 307,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,730,000 after purchasing an additional 64,742 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 222,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,869,000 after purchasing an additional 9,747 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 118.4% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 21,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 11,862 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1,146.2% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 23,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 22,052 shares during the period. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup reduced their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.65.

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.