Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLS) shares hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $23.77 and last traded at $23.72, with a volume of 397600 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.26.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APLS has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Apellis Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apellis Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.53.

Apellis Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.96 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50 day moving average is $27.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.74. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.29) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.37) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $212.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.92 million. Apellis Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 103.11% and a negative net margin of 34.97%. Apellis Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 45.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.73) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apellis Pharmaceuticals

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 stock was sold at an average price of $28.70, for a total transaction of $179,288.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 307,415 shares in the company, valued at $8,822,810.50. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Caroline Baumal sold 2,816 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 55,560 shares in the company, valued at $1,878,483.60. This trade represents a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,054 shares of company stock valued at $1,952,719 in the last 90 days. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apellis Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in APLS. Braidwell LP boosted its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 410.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Boxer Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,504,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 266,361.5% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,385,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,214,000 after acquiring an additional 1,385,080 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Apellis Pharmaceuticals by 969.6% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,518,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,465,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in Apellis Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $41,014,000. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

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).