Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $27.44, but opened at $28.58. Apellis Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $27.81, with a volume of 243,027 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on APLS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $61.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $92.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.65.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 7.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 4.36, a quick ratio of 3.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $31.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a PE ratio of -14.46 and a beta of 0.94.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.46) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $196.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $200.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($1.17) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Caroline Baumal sold 2,816 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.81, for a total value of $95,208.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 55,560 shares in the company, valued at $1,878,483.60. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 6.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APLS. Braidwell LP increased its stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 410.8% during the 3rd quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 3,125,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,130,000 after acquiring an additional 2,513,383 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 191.9% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,144,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,845,000 after purchasing an additional 1,409,707 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,884,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,036,000 after purchasing an additional 735,160 shares during the last quarter. Sphera Funds Management LTD. acquired a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $6,226,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 337.3% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 246,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,177,000 after purchasing an additional 190,420 shares during the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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).