Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 23,180,000 shares, a growth of 11.5% from the October 31st total of 20,790,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,010,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.7 days.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of APLS stock opened at $35.42 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $28.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.20. The firm has a market cap of $4.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.45 and a beta of 0.87. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $24.34 and a 1-year high of $73.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 4.36 and a quick ratio of 3.73.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.46) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.32) by ($0.14). Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 103.11% and a negative net margin of 34.97%. The firm had revenue of $196.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $200.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.17) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 78.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on APLS. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $64.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 13th. William Blair started coverage on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $43.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Apellis Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director A. Sinclair Dunlop sold 37,000 shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.23, for a total value of $1,340,510.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,623,000. This trade represents a 27.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in APLS. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 42.2% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 134,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,161,000 after purchasing an additional 39,931 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 90.7% in the 2nd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 42,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,648,000 after buying an additional 20,435 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 137.8% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 123,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,742,000 after buying an additional 71,650 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 240.4% during the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 54,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,093,000 after buying an additional 38,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaCentric Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $1,370,000. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).