Short Interest in Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) Decreases By 16.0%

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 18,040,000 shares, a drop of 16.0% from the December 31st total of 21,480,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,020,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.0 days.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $28.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 210,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,887,978. The company has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a PE ratio of -14.00 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 3.73 and a current ratio of 4.36. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $32.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.76. Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $24.34 and a 12-month high of $71.90.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.46) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $196.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $200.00 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 103.11% and a negative net margin of 34.97%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($1.17) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Apellis Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APLS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upgraded Apellis Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target 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, William Blair began coverage on Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Cedric Francois sold 6,247 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.70, for a total transaction of $179,288.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 307,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,822,810.50. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO James George Chopas sold 1,096 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.43, for a total value of $33,351.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 48,138 shares in the company, valued at $1,464,839.34. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 60,002 shares of company stock worth $1,800,119 over the last three months. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $56,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 34.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 781 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).