Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 3,599,040 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 140% from the previous session’s volume of 1,496,669 shares.The stock last traded at $43.94 and had previously closed at $47.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on APLS. Jefferies Financial Group raised Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $68.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, February 5th. UBS Group upped their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.40.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 3.1 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $56.53 and a 200 day moving average of $57.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a current ratio of 3.10.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.73) EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.73). The firm had revenue of $146.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $143.34 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 178.60% and a negative net margin of 133.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 545.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($1.50) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 69,107 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.17, for a total value of $3,743,526.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,115,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,452,799.11. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director A. Sinclair Dunlop sold 18,681 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.18, for a total value of $1,068,179.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 173,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,949,205.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Pascal Deschatelets sold 69,107 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.17, for a total value of $3,743,526.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,115,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,452,799.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 376,427 shares of company stock valued at $23,169,639. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,555,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $572,003,000 after buying an additional 85,701 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 79.8% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,542,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,746,000 after buying an additional 1,571,606 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 38.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,460,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,277,000 after buying an additional 677,098 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 109.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,145,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,121,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 126.6% during the third quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 1,053,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,089,000 after purchasing an additional 588,875 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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).