HC Wainwright Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS)

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities researchers at HC Wainwright in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $57.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 99.37% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on APLS. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $61.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $85.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apellis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.65.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of APLS stock opened at $28.59 on Tuesday. 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 has a one year low of $24.34 and a one year high of $71.90. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a PE ratio of -14.08 and a beta of 0.94.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 34.97% and a negative return on equity of 103.11%. The firm had revenue of $196.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $200.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.17) EPS. Apellis Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 78.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Caroline Baumal sold 2,816 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 55,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,878,483.60. This trade represents a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apellis Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APLS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,884,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,036,000 after acquiring an additional 735,160 shares during the period. Braidwell LP boosted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 410.8% during the third quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 3,125,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,130,000 after buying an additional 2,513,383 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 191.9% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,144,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,845,000 after buying an additional 1,409,707 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,810,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,229,000 after acquiring an additional 22,609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 956,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,581,000 after acquiring an additional 9,328 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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).